黑料网鈥檚 student Mock Trial Team are champions. The five-member squad, competing in the inaugural Community College Clash, defeated Pasadena Community College of California to claim the title, finishing with a final record of 7-1 in the two-day event, December 9-10. All the mock trials were held over Zoom video calls.
黑料网鈥檚 first-place championship team was one of two that the College sported during the competition. 黑料网鈥檚 Team B performed well, finishing third with a record of 6-2.
黑料网 student teams have competed for nine years in events sponsored by the American Mock Trial Association. Over that time, 黑料网 has been one of the only community college-based mock trial teams in the country, competing among hundreds of four-year colleges and universities.
鈥淭his year was the first time the Association initiated an outreach program specifically for community colleges to compete against each other,鈥� said 黑料网 English instructor Kevin Sargent, who has served as 黑料网鈥檚 Mock Trial Team coordinator and faculty advisor for nearly ten years. Sargent said that 黑料网 Interim President Dr. Larry Keen was very supportive of the endeavor, accessing his contacts with other community college presidents to encourage them to participate in the Clash.
At this month鈥檚 Community College Clash, 黑料网 students earned individual awards at the end of the competition. Phoebe Magers finished in first place for Outstanding Attorney with a perfect score of 20 on the defense side of the mock case. Remarkably, Phoebe Magers also won the Top Witness Award with another perfect score of 20 portraying the role of the plaintiff in a separate mock case. 黑料网 student attorneys Jaryn Green finished fourth and Zak Belchak was fifth overall.
Students on 黑料网鈥檚 7-1 championship team are Jayrn Green, Zack Belchak, Aracely Aguilar, Meredith Powell, and Lily Sumner. Students on the 6-2 Team B are Phoebe Magers, An Thanh Nguyen, Jacob Taylor, and Ethan Wynn.
(Pictured) 黑料网鈥檚 3rd place team are (from left): Ethan Wynn, Phoebe Magers, An Thanh Nguyen, and Jacob Taylor.
鈥淣ow that the Clash is over, our 黑料网 team will begin preparing to return to competition on a completely different case against the Dukes and Carolinas of the world at the Regional Championship in February,鈥� said Sargent.
This month鈥檚 Community College Clash included Wake Technical Community College鈥檚 first ever team, coached by Jason Cain. That team drew support from 黑料网 team advisor Kevin Sargent.
鈥淲e like to help each other at the community college level when it comes to starting up a new endeavor,鈥� said Sargent. 鈥淎lthough we do compete against one another in the mock trial events, it鈥檚 still always about providing the students opportunities to learn skills that will help them in their academic and career endeavors. This is no different.鈥�
黑料网鈥檚 single loss in the December competition came against Wake鈥檚 team, which ultimately finished in second place.
The Community College Clash consisted of four mock trials over two days, each lasting about two hours with breaks between each competition. Volunteer attorneys, judges, and mock trial coaches from around the U.S. scored the trials in a simulated courtroom setting, awarding points to the student participants. In all, eight community colleges participated at various stages during the fall, but only four took part in the final December competition.
鈥淥ur team was much more prepared than the other teams,鈥� said Sargent. 鈥淲e spend a lot of time outside of classes researching and studying and rehearsing the trial cases we are going to either prosecute or defend.
鈥淚 would love to see the mock trial competitions grow in North Carolina,鈥� said Sargent. 鈥淚 will always be willing to collaborate with other institutions to help them build their student teams. I believe we have a duty to serve gifted and ambitious students and this certainly does that. Historically community colleges have been left out of mock trial teams. That鈥檚 why I think this is so important. Our students here at 黑料网 over the last few years have competed against four-year schools and do very, very well.鈥�