Northwood University’s mock trial teams finished in the top 10 at their first tournament of the season at Michigan State University.“We are really proud to have had a great competition to get our season started,” said DeLois Leapheart, Northwood University faculty member and team adviser. “We have a really competitive group of students, including many who are new to mock trial, and I think we are going to have a great season.”
Mock trial is a national student organization that fosters critical thinking and enhances the public speaking abilities of students through actual trial scenarios. Northwood has three competitive mock trial teams. 22 teams from 10 universities, including MSU, Penn State, Loyola University and Hillsdale College, competed in four trials at the MSU tournament. Each team has at least three “attorneys” and three “witnesses.”
Of the more than 66 students competing in the “attorney” role, only 11 received an Outstanding Attorney Award. Northwood University’s Devon Peasley and Chris Grant both received recognition as outstanding attorneys. In the witness role, Northwood’s Karli Zubeck was one of only two students who received a perfect ranking score for her role as a prosecutor. The top Northwood team finished in seventh place with a record of five wins and three losses.
