Shorewood High School, 2018 High School Mock Trial State Champs. Team members (front row) include Harris McCafferty, Katie Cheever, Shilei Bell-Lipsey, Lena Essak, Bella Riviera, (back row) Nick Howland, Brendan Fardella, Cal Curran, Thomas (Owen) Manion, and Will Aldana.
March 16, 2018 – The Shorewood High School mock trial team has claimed its fourth state mock trial title after defeating D.C. Everest High School in the final round of the annual competition. Shorewood will represent Wisconsin at the 2018 National Mock Trial Championship, May 10-12, in Reno, Nevada.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Crocker, a longtime mock trial volunteer, served as presiding judge over the final round, which was held Sunday, March 11, in the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
“Both teams had a great performance at the final round this year,” said State Bar of Wisconsin Mock Trial Chair Emily Lonergan. “The judges and spectators alike were impressed by the knowledge and skill of both teams. From the opening statements to the closing arguments and every step in between, these students proved to everyone in the Supreme Court Hearing Room that they had earned the opportunity to be in the final round.”
Shorewood’s team members include Kate Cheever, Lena Essak, Shilei Bell–Lipsey, Will Aldana, Cal Curran, Thomas (Owen) Manion, Nick Howland, Brendan Fardella, Bella Riveira and Harris McCafferty. Debra Schwinn and Jasmyn Burston are the team’s teacher coaches, and Attorney Nathan Bayer serves as attorney coach.
Shorewood and D.C. Everest were the top two teams to make it out of the semifinals, which took place Friday and Saturday, March 9–10, 2018, at the Dane County Courthouse in Madison. Twenty–two teams from across the state competed in the event, which consisted of one round Friday evening and three rounds of competition Saturday.
“Once again the level of competition at the semifinal tournament was exceptional,” Lonergan said. “All of the hard work that the students and coaches put in throughout the season was readily apparent throughout the whole weekend.”
More photos of the final round as well as team and award portraits are available on the State Bar of Wisconsin Facebook page.
For more information about Wisconsin Mock Trial, contact State Bar Public Education Manager Katie Wilcox at (608) 250–6191 or kwilcox@wisbar.org.
The Mock Trial program is funded by a generous grant from the Wisconsin Law Foundation, the charitable arm of the State Bar of Wisconsin, supporting law–related education and public service programs statewide.
