The South Windsor High School Mock Trial teams travelled to New Britain Superior Court to successfully participate in the CT round of sixteen on February 6th. Out of the four teams that participated in various preliminary trials, the Maroon, White, and Gold teams qualified for New Britain with 2-0 records.
This was already a record-breaking season for SWHS, with the school having an overall record of 7-1 going into the tournament. The teams persevered through the stress of mid-term exam season and prepared relentlessly for the next round, attending frequent meetings and scrimmages.
However, the day before competition, the teams received what seemed like the worst possible news: the randomized matchups had put Maroon and White against each other, and Gold against the notorious Hall High School. To make matters worse, both Gold and Maroon teams also received word that some of their teammates were too sick to attend the tournament.
“It is crucial to first establish that our team needed to compete under difficult circumstances… being the only school in the playoffs to bring multiple squads into the playoffs had its downside as we were matched against ourselves in the first round,” Mock Trial coach Mr. Hawie said. “This meant that one of our teams was automatically eliminated from contending for the next round. Despite these circumstances, each of our teams performed very well, historically well in fact.”
All three teams worked late into the night, preparing the team members who had offered to ‘double up’, or take on another role to fill the absences. Penny Evans, an attorney on the Gold team, had to become a witness for defense in order to complete their roster.
“Even though there were some issues with people being sick we were able to push through and have a fun time anyway.” Penny Evans said. “Having to step in to do different roles last minute was kind of stressful, however I am very happy that I was able to make my team proud.”
Arriving at the court the next morning, they preserved through the intense first round, which consisted of three-hour trials for each match up.
“After R1, we were all very nervous, we knew we had tied against Maroon so to have a chance we needed to win our second round against Conard,” White team defense attorney Yilin Lin said. “It was really stressful, and in the time between the rounds we were doing all we could to prepare for our trial.”
After lunch, the second round began, with Maroon against Hall, White against Conard, and Gold against Avon. The results discovered the next day were shocking: while Gold and Maroon were unlikely to move on with 0-2 and 1-1 respectively, White would make the Elite Eight with their 2-0 record.
“Our success this year is nothing short of historic. We are the largest team in the state, and now we are one of the most successful,” Mock Trial coach Mr. Hawie said. “Learning that only one of our three teams advanced to the elite 8 is bittersweet, I honestly wanted two, but knowing that most of our club will be back next year means that the rest of CT needs to take real notice of us for a very long time.”
Although not all teams advanced, individual attorneys and witnesses received many ‘Outstanding Awards’ from the judges, with around 50 awarded to the club in total. Now, the Mock Trial club is focused on supporting the White team and celebrating their record-breaking season.
“Watching our team work together is the highlight of my job,” said Mr. Hawie. “As a teacher, being able to sit back and watch what our students are capable of when they help each other navigate an extremely demanding trial and compete against schools with far more resources than ours is nothing short of inspiring.”
