March 9 and 10 in Greeley, Colorado, the HR Mock Trial team competed at state. Annie Hoodecheck explained that they competed in 4 rounds total, one defence and one prosecution round on the 9th, and two prosecution rounds on the 10th. They had been working towards state for a long time.

   In early February, the HR Mock Trial team competed in regionals. Chris Page, principal, said, “The team won every round and are officially heading to state. Along with winning the region, a few students also won specific awards.” Zoé Tkaczyk, senior, and Annie Hoodecheck, senior, won outstanding witnesses and Roxana Pezeshki, senior, won outstanding attorney.  

   Emily Conway, senior, said, “To get to state you have to come in first or second at regionals.” This is exactly what they did, so their next destination was state. The team had prepped nonstop the week before.

   Conway said, “Meetings are kind of all over the place. We get a case and then everyone is assigned a role. You can either be an attorney or a witness for prosecution or defense.” They spend their time building a case, creating cross examinations, and making opening and closing statements.

   Before going to Greeley, Conway said, “I’m feeling really confident about state. I am an attorney for both prosecution and defense and both my witness (JJ Joyner and Annie Hoodecheck) are absolutely amazing. We have a great flow. As a team I think we have a really good chance of placing in the top 10.”

   At state, the team competed in courtrooms, against other teams. Conway said, “It’s like real court, there objections and jury members.” You are then scored on professionalism and your skillset. They will not know their scores until later on.

   Hoodecheck said, “I love mock trial because you get to learn a lot about the legal system but it’s fun to work on a case as a team and find different angles.

Taylor Means, Online Editor