Mock Trial squads go to Opening Round Championships

For the first time, three Cornell College mock trial squads earned bids to the Opening Round Championship Series, which will be held March 11-13 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Teams 1102 (7-1) and 1104 (4-3-1) earned bids to the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) Opening Round Championship Series at the Cedar Rapids regional tournament hosted Feb. 27-28 by Cornell. Maria Goodfellow ’16 and Gwen Morrison ’16 earned attorney awards. Kahn Branch ’16, Andrew Havens ’17, and Lexi Dettbarn ’19 earned outstanding witness awards.

They join team 1103 (8-0), which earned a bid out of the Kansas City regional Feb. 20-21. At that tournament, Mimi Vukelich ’17 earned an outstanding witness award and Ben Garcia ’19 earned an outstanding attorney award.

Although three Cornell teams earned bids, AMTA rules will only allow colleges to enter two squads in the Opening Round Championship Series tournament, and Cornell will be represented by teams 1102 and 1103.

The bid continues Cornell’s national success on the mock trial stage. In 10 years the program has sent squads to the opening round tournament eight times (2009-2016) and to the national tournament six times (2009, 2010, 2012-15). The program has had another strong year, including first- and second-place finishes at Rhodes College, second place at the University of Chicago, and second- and third-place at the University of Iowa.