The middle of March may seem a bit boring for students– it’s far enough through the year where the workload is still going strong, and not quite close enough to summer break. However, the mock trial team at FHN had a bit more on their plates. from March 24-26, the team competed against a variety of schools in the area, and they recently traveled to the Carnahan Courthouse in St. Louis for the Missouri state mock trial competition.
“We started our practice in early October, and we spent Tuesdays and Thursdays every week from 7 to 8:30 p.m.,” Sam Ryan, a sophomore on the mock trial team, said. “Once we got to our regional team, we would also hold extra practices on Monday and Wednesday nights. We also came together with other schools to practice trials.”
The competition’s capacity was limited, so only a select number of people from the team could participate. FHN’s team consisted of nine members: captains Prakul Bhattarai, Regan Griffin, Alexander Ingrassia, and Vanessa Ng, as well as Rayna Aathreya, Riley Jensen, Sophia Jonshon, Sam Ryan, and Barret Nussbaum. The team is decided by the mock trial coaches based on how well each individual performs throughout practice trials, competitions, and preliminary rounds.
“In the future, we’re going to make sure that we work more as a team and we’re going to be super, super collaborative,” Griffin said. “We’re going to make sure that everybody is super prepared for our tournaments.”
The team competed in two trials. They won in their first trial but suffered an unfortunate defeat in the second, making them quarterfinalists for the state. Despite the loss, the team is still working hard and is determined to make its comeback in the years to come.
“We have had a lot of experienced people leave our team, and it’s something that we need to focus on a lot next year– getting people ready and training them to make sure they’re prepared and ready for our trials next year,” Ryan said. “But, we still have a lot of very talented people. As long as the knowledge can continue to be shared the way it was this year, that is how we’ll ensure our wins.”
