Second championship bid for Mock Trial

A second Cornell College mock trial squad has earned a bid to the Opening Round Championship Series, which will be held in March.

Squad 1104, one of three squads that make up the college’s mock trial program, went 6-2 at the American Mock Trial Association regional tournament held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Feb. 21-22. That earned them a fourth-place finish and a bid to the opening round tournament. Two students were also recognized for individual performance. Junior Nora McKenzie earned outstanding attorney recognition and junior Kahn Branch was named an outstanding witness.

The squad joins squad 1103, which won the regional tournament in St. Paul, Minnesota earlier this month and earned a bid to the opening round tournament.

Squad 1104 will compete at the opening round tournament in Geneva, Illinois, March 20-22, and squad 1103 will compete at the opening round tournament in Anoka, Minnesota, March 13-15. Both will be fighting for a chance to advance to the national championship tournament in Cincinnati,  Ohio, in April.

The bid continues Cornell’s national success on the mock trial stage. The nine-year-old program has sent squads to the opening round tournament seven times and to the national tournament five times. The program has had another strong year, with first-place finishes at tournaments at Xavier University, Illinois State University, and the University of Iowa, second and third-place finishes at Stanford University, and numerous individual awards throughout the season.