CLA Mock Trial News
HATTING MOCK TRIAL INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT JANUARY 21-22, 2011 UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS SCHOOL OF LAW
The Hatting Mock Trial Invitational is held every year at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in downtown Minneapolis. In recent years, UMD has performed well at this tournament, placing second one year and first another year. UMD teams weren’t in the winner’s circle this year, but two individual UMD students turned in stellar performances. This year’s top finishers were these schools:
1. Grinnell College from Iowa,
2. Gonzaga from Washington State,
3. Macalester,
4. University of Arizona, Tucson.
UMD’s fortunate to be in Minnesota, with tournaments that attract mockers from universities across the country.
UMD’s “A” team finished with a record of 3 wins and 5 losses, which put it in 12th place. Unfortunately, half of their rounds were against teams that finished in the top 4. That’s the luck of the draw at any tournament. UMD’s “B+” team finished with a record of 2 wins, 5 losses, and 1 tie. A total of 20 teams competed, including the University of Missouri, Kansas City which placed eighth.
Amelia McDonah turned in another compelling performance as Midlands patrol officer Ryan K. Foster, earning herself an Outstanding Witness Award. Her award was especially noteworthy because she earned it with a perfect score of 20. A perfect score means every judge, in every round she played Ryan K. Foster scored her the best witness in the trial. Amelia’s performance is reminiscent of Jack Webb’s portrayal of Sergeant Joe Friday in the television series Dragnet. Amelia will be with us again next year, mocking her heart out for UMD.
Alex Hagstrom continued his winning ways. His attorney role earned him individual recognition as an Outstanding Defense Attorney. Alex delivers strong performances as both a defense attorney and as a prosecuting attorney, earning Outstanding Attorney Awards in all but one tournament this season. Alex is a senior and we’ll miss him next year.
American Mock Trial Association Regional Qualifying Tourament February 11-13, 2011 University of Wisconsin, Superior
UMD’s two mock trial teams were among 24 teams competing in the
American Mock Trial Association Regional Tournament at UWS. Eight teams
from each region qualify to receive an invitation to the Opening Round National
Championship in March. UMD team 1288 qualified to advance to the national
level and has accepted its invitation. Team members are from left to right:
Front row: Mai Narcy, Cody Dorumsgaard, Janet Lano.
Back row: Alex Hagstrom, Matt Ward, Ryan Lyk, John Manydeeds.
Team 1288 placed seventh, with a record of 5 wins and 3 losses. As usual,
competition was stiff. All teams placing 5, 6, and 7 had 5 wins and 3 losses, with
no more than 3 points separating them.
Two UMD students earned awards for their individual performances.
Josselyn Hill earned an award as an Outstanding Witness for her work on
UMD team 1289. Josselyn was new to mock trial this year and was responsible for
preparing four different witness roles for the tournament.
Ryan Lyk won an award as an Outstanding Attorney on UMD team 1288.
Ryan had attorney roles for both the plaintiff and defendant, which gives him
the tough job of keep the two sides of the case straight. He has won at least one
Outstanding Attorney award at every tournament this season.
UMD’s team 1289 finished with a record of 3 wins and 5 losses. Team
members from left to right are:
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Front row: Kristin Iverson, Ehren Minkema, Samantha Bisogno.
Back row: Nick Johnson, Kaitie Kouba, Derek Stewart, Josselyn Hill.
The Season Continues for UMD Team 1288
UMD’s Team 1288 will compete in the Opening Round National
Championship at the Ramsey County Courthouse on March 25-27, 2011. There
will be a total of 24 teams from seven states at the Opening Round. Before
the Regional Qualifying Tournament earlier this month, there were 630 mock
trial teams in the nation, all hoping to advance. UMD is among the 192 teams
advancing to an Opening Round National Championship.
Opening Round competitions will be held in March at eight cities throughout
the country: White Plains, Washington DC, Memphis, Greenville, St. Paul,
Hamilton, Irvine, and Waukegan. Of these top teams in the nation, 48 will
advance from the Opening Round to the National Championship Tournament in
Des Moines on April 15-17, 2011.
At the Opening Round National Championship, UMD will face teams from
at least seven states: Illinois, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, South Dakota, Iowa, and
Minnesota. These teams are the best of the best in the Midwest.
Hatting Mock Trial Invitational Tournament University of St. Thomas School of Law January 22-23, 2011
The Hatting Mock Trial Invitational is held every year at the University of St.
Thomas School of Law. UMD has established itself as a dominant force at this tournament.
Last year UMD placed second and the year before UMD placed first.
This year, we didn’t do that well. UMD’s “A” team finished with a record of 4 wins
and 4 losses, which put it in 9th place. UMD’s “B+” team finished with a record of 2 wins, 5
losses, and 1 tie for a finish in 15th place. There were 18 teams coming from as far away as
Boulder, Colorado. Grinnell took 1st place.
Ryan Lyk continues to shine. Once again, he earned two awards: one as an
Outstanding Plaintiff’s Attorney and a second award as an Outstanding Defense Attorney.
This is quite a distinction anytime, but especially noteworthy because Ryan was the only
competitor to win two awards as both an attorney and witness. He is certainly a focused and
Aside from statistics, the esprit de corps of the “B+” team continues to impress. It
is the best of any team I’ve coached at UMD. They are truly having fun, are personally
dedicated to each other, and put the team’s mission ahead of their individual interests
Macalester II Mock Trial Tournament December 4-5, 2010
This was a memorable tournament for UMD’s mock trial program. St. Paul had
been hit by a terrible blizzard and only UMD’s “B” could get there for the competition.
Our “B” team earned the Eighth Place Trophy with a record of 5 wins and 3
losses. To the best of anyone’s recollection, this is the first time a UMD “B” team has
earned a trophy at an invitational tournament. For the rest of the season, they will be
known as the “B+” Team.
From left to right in the “B+” team photo: Ehren Minkema, Josselyn Hill,
Samantha Bisogno, Derek Stewart, Cody Dorumsgaard, Nick Johnson, Kristin Iverson,
Kaitie Kouba.
Our B team also produced some outstanding individual performances that earned individual recognition.
Ehren Minkema earned an individual award as an Outstanding Plaintiff Witness.
This is his first year with mock trial and we are looking forward to continued good work
from him.
Kaitie Kouba earned an individual award as an Outstanding Plaintiff Attorney
with a perfect score of 20. Katie has turned in many wonderful performances over the
past two years and her hard work has now been recognized in competition. She has
dedicated much effort and time to mock trial and is a true asset to UMD.
Macalester I, Mock Trial Report November 5-7, 2010.
UMD’s “A” team competed in the Macalester I mock trial tournament on
November 5-7, 2010. UMD finished with 4 wins and 4 losses.
This was a large competition, with 50 teams coming from 7 states.
Seventeen teams finished with win-loss records better than UMD, which clearly
placed UMD in the upper half of the field. The strength of the completion can be
gauged by looking at the list of the top finishers.
First Place: University of Notre Dame.
Second Place: Washington State University.
Third Place: University of Notre Dame.
Fourth Place: Michigan State University.
Fifth Place: Macalester College.
Sixth Place: University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Once again, UMD’s Ryan Lyk distinguished himself for his individual
excellence. In this tournament, he earned personal recognition as an Outstanding
Attorney for the defense. I estimate there were probably 400 students on the 50
teams competing at Mac I, which makes this recognition especially noteworthy.
This is Ryan’s fourth Outstanding Attorney award in three tournaments so far this
season.
St. Olaf Mock Trial Tournament: October 23-24, 2010.
The St. Olaf Mock Trial Tournament was only one week after the U of M
tournament, which had been used as part of our auditions for UMD’s “A” team.
Our new “A” team was sent to St. Olaf.At St. Olaf, UMD placed 6th out of 28 teams. UMD finished with a record of 5 wins, 2 losses, and 1 tie. The first place team was 7-1 and the second through fifth place teams all had records of 6 wins. Each of UMD’s 2 losses was by 1 point. The top teams, including UMD, were tightly grouped.
UMD’s Ryan Lyk earned two personal honors at St. Olaf. He won an award of Outstanding Plaintiff’s Attorney with 19 points. He also won an award of Outstanding Defense Attorney with a perfect score of 20 points. He was the only person in the tournament to win two awards. Winning two awards is amazing, and he was singled out at the awards ceremony for special recognition.
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