Laura Madeira | Co-A&L Editor

This past weekend, the Menlo Mock Trial team traveled to Madison, Wisconsin to compete in the National Mock Trial competition. The Mock Trial Team qualified for this event by defeating 3-time California State Champion, La Reina in the state championship. This is the first time in the Mock Trial team’s history that they have ever qualified for nationals, and the team went 3-1 on the trip. Menlo beat teams from Massachusetts, Arkansas, and Connecticut, and the only loss came to a team from Minnesota. Junior Mackenzie Bressie won the Best Witness award for her portrayal of Maxine Brooks.

Coach and Faculty Advisor Dan Devitt was extremely impressed with all the hard work that was put into this year’s season and was very pleased that it paid off. “As faculty sponsor, I am incredibly proud of this year’s team, especially our senior attorneys (Kathryn Hurd, Christina Wadsworth and Kate Park) that led us to our first ever state championship and trip to Madison for Nationals,” Devitt said. Senior co-captain, Kate Park, further emulated Devitt’s sense of pride in the team and was very confident in the team’s performance. “We left it all in the courtroom, meaning there were no regrets about a question we did or did not ask or the level of energy we exuded.  Sometimes you can’t control certain things—scorers’ styles, a first round draw—but what we could control–witness portrayals, objections, teamwork—was amazing,” Park said. Senior attorney, Kathryn Hurd, referred to this year’s team as the most accomplished team Menlo has ever had and has high praise for the teams success in the courtroom as well as their ability to bond and work together. “[The team’s success] came from a combination of unbreakable teamwork, team bonding, excellent courtroom skills and ultimately the fun, joy, and love that we all experience from doing mock trial. I will miss my team so much. I love them all and couldn’t be happier about our year of success,” Hurd said.

This season of Mock Trial has made the entire Menlo Community very proud and gives us all, as well as next year’s team, something to look forward. This team has set a high bar, and Menlo will look to build off this momentum for next year.