The Mock Trial club attended the state championships in Richmond on March 18 and 19.
Mock Trial coach and social studies teacher Patricia Coppolino said the team has improved over the course of the year.
Junior Ainsley McCoy, won a Best Attorney award for her work.
“We all tried our best, and it was an honor just to be there,” McCoy said.
Sophomore Lucas Pettine attended the competition with the team and said McCoy seemed very confident.
“She memorized her lines and made sure that she knew all the material,” Pettine said.
The team qualified for States after a regional competition, setting them as one of the seven best teams in the area.
Pettine said it was nerve-wracking to be there but overall a good bonding experience.
“It was fun, and I think I did pretty well,” Pettine said.
Coppolino said the Mock Trial team showed their strengths throughout the year.
“I think we really were strong this year in terms of being able to make and argue objections,” she said. “Our understanding of the rules of evidence really improved.”
To prepare for the annual season of competitions, club members research a hypothetical case and take on roles as either attorneys or witnesses.
“We get the trial problem in September,” Coppolino said. “We start meeting in September reading through the problem, figuring out what the case is, and what our theory of the case is.”
The team will begin preparations for next year’s competition in the fall.