RECAP: Jesuit Mock Trial Attends Empire World Championships Chicago
This past weekend, Jesuit Mock Trial competed at the Empire Mock Trial World Championship held in Chicago. The competition hosted 44 teams from 38 states and 7 different countries, all competing for the coveted prize of the first place mock trial team in the world.
Jesuit sent two teams over, the Arrupe team and the Ignatius team, which were made up of juniors and seniors and led by Dr. Exley and Mr. Shoultz. After a short redeye flight, they landed in Chicago on Thursday morning, using the day to practice and scrimmage against other competing teams preparing for the competition starting on Saturday.
Senior captain of the Arrupe Team, Claire Skeyskal, has been a part of the mock trial program for 3 years and competed last year in Chicago.
“I am very proud of the effort our teams have put into this. I think we work really well together and are ready to take on whatever Empire throws at us,” said Steyskal.
On Friday night the Opening Ceremony took place, giving the teams an opportunity to meet other teams from around the world and challenge each other for the first round. Jesuit Arrupe was challenged by Harpeth Hall School in Nashville and Jesuit Ignatius challenged Faith Lutheran High School from Las Vegas.
After two very evenly matched trials, Jesuit Arrupe and Ignatius just fell short, Ignatius losing both ballots and Arrupe losing one and tying the other. Despite these first round losses, both teams brought it back for the next rounds, winning more ballots and upping their performance.
Elinor Hwee, another senior captain on the Arrupe Team detailed the rise both teams had after their first trial.
“After the first round, we realized that these teams had been working just as hard as us and we needed to truly prepare ourselves for the next day if we were wanting to place well. We practiced late into Saturday night to make sure that we were fully prepared for our next trials,” said Hwee.
2 trials took place on Saturday and 2 took place on Sunday, starting at 10:30 am and 3:45 pm and lasting for roughly 2.5 hours each time. For each trial, there are 2 scorers who each submit a ballot. To win a trial a team has to win both ballots or one ballot and tie the other one.
After many trials against top 10 teams, Jesuit Arrupe won 5 ballots and Ignatius won 3. Most notably, they competed against teams all the way from Ireland and South Korea, and Jesuit Ignatius even split ballots against the team that came in second place the year before.
Announced at the closing ceremony, Jesuit Arrupe placed 13th at the competition and senior Jason Pham won one of the Top 3 Outstanding Attorney Awards.
When asked about this award, he said, “I was very surprised but at least now I can say I am a Top Attorney in Chicago. It was a joint effort and I know I couldn’t have won it without the help of my team.”
On Monday both teams got to enjoy the chilly weather and heavy snowfall while also attending an architectural boat tour on the Chicago River.
Next on the agenda for Jesuit Mock trial is the Oregon state competition with the hopes of winning state and attending nationals.
