The SMU Mock Trial A Team won a three-way tie for first place last weekend during a national tournament in Minnesota. The team went 7-1 and received a bid to the national championship in St. Petersburg, Fla. April 13-15. The top 64 teams across the country will compete for the national title.
“I was in tears,” said Ann Wyatt Little, an SMU junior and a member of the team.
Two separate competitions were held over the weekend in order to break up the amount of schools participating. One competition was held in Chicago, Ill., and the second was held in Minneapolis, Minn. Nearly 100 teams participated. Both tournaments advance six teams each to the national championship. The six teams that won in Minneapolis included Washington and Lee, SMU, Wake Forest, Georgetown, Loras and Brown.
“The caliber and quality of these teams is incredible,” said Little. “They are the best of the best.”
Little has participated in the Mock Trial program since its competitive start three years ago.
In Minneapolis SMU competed in four three-hour trials against College of Charleston, Fordham University, Washington and Lee, and Furman University.
Last year SMU came in fourth place at nationals and was half a point of competition strength away from going to the national championship.
“The competition we will be facing in St. Petersburg consist of many teams we have competed against before and we have tied or beaten each them,” said head coach Kelly Reddell.
SMU is equally as competitive as Harvard, Dartmouth and Stanford said Reddell.
Little said the national championship is Mock Trial’s own kind of March Madness, except it’s academic.
Both the SMU A Team and B Team competed. Each team consists of eight members.
The SMU B Team placed 9th overall. Except for one member, the B Team consists of first-year competitors. Little calls the B Team’s win huge for the program.
Only the A Team will attend the National Championship in April.
SMU received three individual awards in addition to its win.
Junior Brett Kohlhofer and sophomore Grace Williams were presented with Best Attorney awards, and sophomore Jessica Wikstrom received a Best Witness award.
“We wouldn’t be going if it wasn’t for every single member of the team and that’s true to the other team as well. They are equally as amazing,” said Reddell, who has been with the team since its formation.
SMU will compete in the first round of the national championship on Friday, April 13.
The team will compete in two more trials on Saturday and one more on Sunday. If the team wins, it will compete in the championship round.
“We’ve worked so hard to get there,” said Little, “We took the long way but we’re going.”
