Northwood University Mock Trial students recently won third place at a fall invitational at Michigan State University.
“We are beyond pleased with the progress our students have made as the fall season gets underway” stated Dr. DeLois Leapheart, director of NU’s Mock Trial Program.
Northwood had two teams compete in the invitational. One team placed third overall after splitting ballots with the University of Iowa, defeating Western Michigan, dropping a loss to MSU, and winning a trial against Xavier. Students on this team included:
- Maria Achenbach of Waldron
- Jaleigh Beckert of Westerville, Ohio
- Gabe Cerda of Westland
- Maze Gusa of Ubly
- Aaron Harvey of Saginaw
- Jenna Houserman of Houghton Lake
- Julian Lee of Macomb
- Barrett Tefft of Davison
- Conrad Waldie of Vassar
- Winston Wilcox of Camden
Individually, Cerda won an Outstanding Witness Award on the defense side of the case, and Tefft won an Outstanding Attorney Award on both the plaintiff and defense side of the case.
Northwood’s second team had more new students on its roster. This team began with a decisive win against Eastern Michigan University but lost trials against teams from MSU, Miami, and Wheaton. Students on this team included:
- Excellent Abikphi of Midland
- Evan Baker of Grandville
- Jaleigh Beckert of Westerville, Ohio
- Kurtis Depner of Port Huron
- Riley Hayer of Clare
- Hayden Kutchinski of Freeland
- Parker Maples of Howell
- Collin Ridgway of Flint
- Johnathan Schwegler of Grand Blanc
- Evelyn Wells of Troy
“As Einstein once said, ‘the only source of knowledge is experience,’ and I couldn’t be more proud of both our teams, one which built upon its past experience to rank in the Top 3 finishers, and the other featuring competitors who are new to the collegiate mock trial world — and who I have no doubt will go on to be successful as their senior Mock Trial counterparts,” Leapheart noted.
Leapheart thanked Assistant Coaches Stephen Dunn and Jacob Walters, both Northwood alumni, for helping both teams.
“Without their tireless efforts, our students would not have earned so many accolades,” she added.
To learn more about Northwood University’s Mock Trial Program, visit https://www.northwood.edu/student-life/organizations/mock-trial/.
