On April 1, the members of Colorado Academy’s Mock Trial Team that won the State Championship will get the first look at their next court case, and they will have only six weeks to prepare for their national courtroom showdown.
CA’s Mock Trial A Team won the State Championship in early March for the first time since the program was started at CA in 2009. That means eight students from the team will compete for the national title at the National High School Mock Trial competition set for May 11-13, 2017 in Hartford, CT.
Each year approximately 30,000 students participate in local high school mock trial competitions throughout the United States, Guam, South Korea, and the Northern Mariana Islands. From May 11 to 13, 2017 Civics First will host the best teams from each of these states and territories at the 2017 National High School Mock Trial Championship in Hartford. Students will take part in two full days of competitions.
“(It) was the best moment I have experienced in twenty years of teaching.”
Faculty sponsor of the program, Upper School teacher Luis Terrazas, says that seeing the students’ excitement about the win “was the best moment I have experienced in twenty years of teaching.” He described the students as exhibiting a blend of “confidence, humility, and boldness.” Upper School Principal Dr. Jon Vogels says, “What an accomplishment for the students and coaches.”
Team members include Jacqueline Patel, Erin McCoy, Ady Richards, Grace Ingebretsen, Audrey Groves, Amelia Lochhead, Eliza Ducnuigeen, Lila Arnold, Liam Caplan, Eric Bear, Avery Niles, and Jill Murphy. CA’s Justin Ferrugia was timekeeper for the team throughout the state competition. The team was coached by Mark Grueskin, Victoria Sharp, Byeongsook Seo, and John Funk.