Beaver Area High School’s mock trial teams competed in several county-level tournaments in February. Arguing the case of The Estate of George Romero vs. Ash Williams, the students aimed to beat competing teams from neighboring schools.

Competitions consisted of three rounds during three separate weeks. The first round saw Beaver Area’s A team score a win, with senior Ryan Appel winning best lawyer and junior Jakub Dingo winning best witness. Unfortunately, the B team lost the first round to New Brighton with a close score of 92-85.

While our A team didn’t compete in the second round, the B team won their trial that week. Senior Josh Fogg won the title of best plaintiff lawyer that round, and junor Larisa May won best plaintiff witness.

In round 3 the A team had a close match against Lincoln Park, but ultimately lost the trial. On our side of the case, Appel was nominated best lawyer and Drew DeFrancesco won best witness.

Similarly, the B team suffered a loss in the third round after a spirited trial against Philadelpia’s Masterman High School. Freshman Olivia St. Esprit was named best defense lawyer, and May won the title of best witness for the defense.

Mock trial coach Mars. Laura O’Rorke shared her feelings about this past mock trial season.

“This season was very different from any other,” she exclaimed. “Most of our preparation took place online, and all of the competitions were online. Our students more than rose to the challenge, though.”

Mock trial can be a rewarding experience for both the competitors and coaches alike.

Mrs. O’Rorke shared, “My favorite part about coaching mock trial is seeing how much students improve throughout the semester. I am constantly impressed by the incredible strides our students make in such a short period of time. I can’t properly express how incredibly proud [fellow coach] Mr. Inge and I were with our students this year,” Mrs. O’Rorke stated. “Their natural talent combined with their work ethic made this one of the best seasons ever, even despite the difficult circumstances. I hope they feel proud.”

This season’s case in particular left many mock trial participants going back and forth on who they felt was at fault in the case.

“Our students are so good at arguing the case, I honestly go back and forth about this depending on which side of the case our team is competing on,” Mrs. O’Rorke admitted. “When our defense is competing, Ash is for sure not liable! But when our plaintiff is competing I think Ash is fully responsible!”

Great job and congratulations to all those who competed this season!