Mock Trial earns bid for national tournament
Senior Kathya Acuña, right, and junior Brenna Twohy, left, accepting one of eight bids from the competition Sunday in the Buckley Center Auditorium (Kayla Wong | THE BEACON)
By Philip Ellefson, Staff Writer -- ellefson15@up.edu
UP students earn individual awards and take third
The campus became a courtroom last weekend as UP hosted the America Mock Trial Association Portland Regional Tournament.
Twenty-two teams from 13 universities in the Northwest competed, with students acting as attorneys and witnesses. They were judged on their knowledge of the case and their performance.
UP's Team A placed third in the tournament after UC Berkeley and Washington State University, respectively. Along with the top eight teams, they won a bid to go to the Opening Round Championship Series Tournament in Memphis, Tenn., where they will compete in March. Team B got an honorable mention, coming in at 11th place.
Freshman Nic Barradas won the top Outstanding Witness Award, while senior and team captain Kathya Acuña placed second in the same category.
Barradas attributes both his success and the team's success to the amount time and effort that the team puts in to practicing.
"We work like 40 hours a week," Barradas said. "It's like a full-time job."
Acuña said the team's strong bond is another factor that led to their success in the tournament.
"The team dynamic and how supportive we are to each other is the key that allowed us to succeed," Acuña said.
Acuña said even though she was excited to win an award, the team's success matters more to her.
"I didn't really care about the individual award," Acuña said. "It's all about the team."
Steven Taylor, mock trial coach and adjunct political science professor, said he is proud of the performance of both UP teams that competed.
"This is the best result we've ever had at a regional tournament with two teams," Taylor said.
UP's Team C did not compete in the tournament, but will compete in another regional tournament in Fresno, Calif. this weekend. Taylor said he has high hopes for Team C's performance.
"We're looking forward to a chance to advance another team to nationals," Taylor said.
This is Taylor's last year as head coach of UP's mock trial teams. Next year, UP alumnus and former mock trial member Aaron Johnson, who is currently an assistant coach, will take his place.
Acuña said that although the team is sad to see Taylor leave, Johnson has already become important to the team.
"He's been integral to our success," Acuña said.
Sophomore Brendan Bewley, a member of Team C who will compete in Fresno next weekend, said the reward is worth the hard work the team puts in for mock trial.
"It's a great balance between argument, story-telling, presentation, acting," Bewley said. "It's challenging in many different ways, which makes it rewarding in the end."
UP Mock Trial won third place over the weeked at the America Mock Trial Association Portland Regional Tournament hosted at UP (Kayla Wong | THE BEACON)
