On Saturday, Sept. 30, and Sunday, Oct. 1, the MAHS Mock Trial team competed at the annual Yale Bulldog Mock Trial Competition.
“I was very happy with how everyone did,” said Mock Trial adviser Mrs. Susan Wise about the team, which left on Friday and returned on Monday. “First years were tremendous and the experienced team members did better than I have seen in a long time.”
Senior captain Elise Beishline said the team did, “Super good, everyone pulled together, new people learned a lot of stuff, and experienced people learned a lot.”
In preparation for Yale, the team had a lot of work that they had to do. They started practicing during the end of summer vacation and continued to practice up until they left for the meet.
When members were asked how they prepared for the competition, sophomore Lea Beishline said, “Re-reading my stuff,” while sophomore Cullen Pauling said, “I ran through it [the direct] a bunch the night before.”
The Yale Mock Trial competition was the first time new members of the team were able to compete against other teams in a competition setting.
“For my first competition it went well but I need to work on objections,” said sophomore Bailey Ulmer, who competed for the first time as a member of the Mock Trial team at Yale.
Returning member Pauling said, “The first performance, I didn’t think I did well, but after that, I got more confident on the stand.”
Also returning, senior Emma Chilen said, “The second day went really well. I felt like I did really good on my cross. I handled it well.”
Mock Trial is a club that centers around public speaking, which can be scary for a lot of members.
“The first competition was a little nerve-wracking but the second day was better,” Lea Beishline said.
Pauling seconded this opinion, and said, “It was spooky at first but after a bit it was fun and I enjoyed it.”
While at the competition, junior Brady Cohen won an award for his portrayal of a witness. Witnesses win awards based on the number of points they receive from the two judges. The higher ranked a person is, the more points they receive, and if they get enough points, they receive awards.
Cohen said, “I didn’t expect it,” but, when asked about where his success came from, he said “Teamwork, credit to Karleigh McKenna.” who was his lawyer during the competition.
An aspect of Mock Trial that is difficult is that members have to compete as a team. Witnesses and lawyers have to work together as a pair in order to get their main points across.
Part of the fun of competing at Yale is staying in a hotel and going to fun places like a mall near where the team stayed.
Cohen said, “Spending time with my friends,” was his favorite part of the trip.
This was the opinion of Ulmer as well, who said, “Hanging out with everyone, [and] the people.” was also her favorite part.
Wise said she enjoyed “Spending time with the team and watching them push themselves and succeed.”
Senior captain Lucia Catino said, “The kikis (hangouts) with the team were fun.”
Now that the Yale competition is over, the team is continuing to work hard in preparation for the state case that will come out sometime in November. Wise said, “We need to work on objections to build confidence and fight procrastination.”
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