On Jan. 29, the FHN Speech and Debate team traveled to Jefferson City, MO in order to compete in the first round of the Mock Trials competition. At the competition, the two teams competing against one another take on roles of either the prosecutors or defense attorneys and debate the case at hand and are later scored based on their arguments and support.

“Mock trial is a unique chance to explore the field of law and justice,” senior Miles Thies, said “You get to learn about various new things while also improving your public speaking skills at the same time.”

The two teams representing FHN were the Black and Gold teams. Both teams from FHN won each of their individual debates. The Gold Team won on a 3-0 decision of 98-76 versus Ferguson-Florrisant, and the Black Team won on a 3-0 decision of 92-77 against SLU High. According to one member of the team, the multiple practices the team held helped prepare them for the trials.

“Both of our teams felt really elated and proud of each other when we learned that we had both won our debates,” Junior and Gold Team member, Tessa Smith, said “This is motivating us to work even harder so we can eventually go to regionals in March.”

With round one of Mock Trials over, the team looks forward to round two, where they hope to be just as successful as they were in round one. In order to accomplish this, the team plans on being adequately prepared for the debate.

“We’re planning on putting a similar amount of time and energy into preparing this time,” Senior and Black Team member, Luke Guerdan, said “We will learn even more from what the teams used last round to make the next debate better.”