Leaders of Washington and Lee’s Mock Trial team said the group has high hopes after a successful debut at an October competition.

The team spent their reading days participating in the Red Devil Sleeping Bowtie Invitational at Dickinson College. Washington and Lee Mock Trial’s Team White placed No. 5 in the invitational and brought back individual awards: Kriya Shah, ’26, was awarded as a witness and attorney, and Claire Manning, ’26, and Erika Kengni, ’27, were awarded as attorneys.

Members of the team said this success is something to celebrate.

“The year has started off really well…we brought a lot of hardware home which was nice. I think we’re up for a really good season ahead,” said Shah, the vice president of Mock Trial.

Mock Trial is a competitive extracurricular that simulates court cases. Teams receive case files and take on roles as witnesses or attorneys, competing “in court” against other schools.

“It’s a contest that challenges your knowledge of the law and your public speaking abilities,” said team member Malachi Zarahn, ’28.

The case the team had to prepare for October’s competition surrounded the suspicious sudden death of a millionaire that took place on a train. The millionaire’s child, Taylor Hopson, is on trial for the murder of their father. However, other train passengers have possible motives to end the millionaire’s life. Each school must prepare to defend Hopson or sue him for the damages.

“You can repeat a case multiple times and have different results. There’s no right or wrong answer,” said Zarahn. It is up to the team to create the most compelling case in order to sway the judges. 

The team’s recent success has been the result of thorough preparation, Shah said. She said the group practiced nine hours a week leading up to the invitational so the team could learn their parts, prepare for objections and become comfortable with courtroom operations.

This preparation was important to the team’s success, both for first-years who are new to the team and college Mock Trial as well as more experienced members. During this invitational, the team competed against highly competitive schools including Yale University, Shah said.

W&L’s Mock Trial group is split into two teams: Team White and Team Blue. One acts as the plaintiff, and one as the defense. Currently, the teams are organized randomly and have the same levels of preparation. As the season progresses and competitions become more serious, the teams will be stacked.

The competition was organized by the American Mock Trial Association. According to the association’s website, this invitational provides students with the opportunity to prepare for future competitions throughout the season, which runs until April. These competitions, including regionals, open round championships and the national championship, will be the main focus of the team this season, Shah said.

“We definitely want to get a team to nationals this year. That’s our main goal…We set the bar high this competition, and we want to continue setting it higher,” Shah said.

Nationals will take place April 4 through April 6 in Cleveland, Ohio. To prepare for future competitions, the team plans to continue practicing as usual.

“The more we practice and the more we experience we have, the better we get…to make sure we’re putting on our best performance when we compete,” Shah said.