All three of the Hillsdale College Mock Trial teams returned from fall break with winning records after early fall season tournaments.
Scary Decisis, a team of returning Mock Trial members, and De Novo, Hillsdale’s new member Mock Trial team, competed in the first tournament of their fall season at the Pennsylvania State University over the weekend. Rekt Judicata, another veteran Hillsdale team, competed at its second tournament of the fall season in Cleveland, Ohio, the week before fall break.
According to sophomore Chloe Noller, a member of Scary Decisis and the mock trial media director, Hillsdale teams finished the tournament with winning records and four individual awards. Senior Abby Davis and junior Natalie LeBlanc both won outstanding attorney awards with perfect ranks, and seniors Justin Lee and Konrad Verbaarschott received outstanding witness awards.
LeBlanc and Lee, captains of De Novo, said 70 percent of the attendees at the Penn State tournament had been at last year’s national championships. Both captains said they are proud of their team’s winning record against tough competition.
“The field was definitely going to be more difficult,” LeBlanc said. “I’m proud of how the team competed.”
LeBlanc also said the tournament was a good introduction for team members who are new to Hillsdale College Mock Trial.
“Going to the first tournament was really a moment for us to bond and for them to see what mock trial is all about,’” LeBlanc said.
Lee said the team spent an unusually long time preparing – 10 hours on the drive to Penn State and at their hotel the night before – which helped them do well.
“That is not normal for new member teams in their first tournament,” Lee said. “I think we have a lot of really bright competitors who are coming through here.”
Senior Caleb Sampson, one of the captains of Rekt Judicata, said the Cleveland tournament went well for the team. According to Sampson, Rekt Judicata faced off against teams from the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Michigan, the University of Notre Dame, and Northwestern University.
“We had a five win, three loss winning record,” Sampson said. “We were very excited because this was our first winning record as a team.”
According to Sampson, one notable moment from the tournament was when his teammate, sophomore Valerie Check, was cross examining a witness from the University of Michigan team.
“Valerie was cross examining a former nationals competitor and did a very good job cross examining the witness to get the facts we needed for our case,” Sampson said.
According to Noller, Hillsdale’s Mock Trial team placed second in the national tournament last year. Noller said that the mock trial teams are preparing energetically in the hopes of competing for the national championships again this year.
“We’re really dialed in – we’re really working hard to make sure we can get there again,” Noller said. “Judging by the work everyone’s putting in, it’s going to be a really great season. I’m very excited for it.”
