team poses for a photo. “We worked harder
than ever and performed better than we
ever had in the past, ” sophomore
Matthew Casler said.
photo courtesy/MATTHEW CASLER
By NATALIE DISLA
While most teenagers spend their weekends relaxing, 13 members of the Mock Trial team spent their weekend arguing in court, face-to-face against other students in the state.
After four rounds of competition, lasting two hours each, the team left without placing in the top five.
The team played the two top Florida teams, Lawton Chiles and Fletcher High School, due to the FLREA’s system of power matching. While they beat two other teams, Lakeland Christian and Saint Steven’s Episcopal School, they suffered a loss to the two top teams, preventing from placing in the top 5 and advancing to nationals.
Junior Breanna Rummler and sophomore Matthew Casler replaced one of their “A Team” lawyers, senior Elizabeth Barahona as she made it to the state finals for the American Legion Oratorical Competition. The new starting attorneys crammed months of preparation into the week before the state competition.
“In one word, the experience could only be described as overwhelming,” Casler said.
Even though the two students had a week to become state-caliber attorneys, they were complemented by their opponents who could not believe they were originally witnesses.
“I was super impressed with how they handled the situation. They looked like they had been doing it for months,” mock trial coach Loriann Wootten said.
The team practiced for over 100 hours. They started in October and practiced after school, over breaks, weekends and during class to perfect their case.
“Sweat and tears have literally gone into preparing for states,” Casler said.
Instead of focusing on the negatives, the team realized all they overcame as a team and felt them stronger.
“They did better than last year and grew as a team,” Wootten said. “I was really proud of them.”