Glenwood mock trial teams headed to state

Glenwood Springs High School will once again be sending not one, but two mock trial teams to the state tournament next month after hosting the regional competition over the weekend at the Garfield County Courthouse.

“This was the one of the most competitive Western Slope Regional Tournaments,” Charlie Willman, one of the Glenwood team coaches, said.

Grand Junction High School had two teams, R-5 high school from Grand Junction had one team, Rifle High School had three teams and Glenwood High School had three teams.

Glenwood teams A and B took first and second place, respectively, while Rifle’s Team Gold came in third.

The two Glenwood teams advance to the state tournament to be held April 1-2 in Pueblo.

Willman explained that this year’s mock case is a criminal case, People v. Clark, in which the defendant, Tory Clark, is accused of murdering his/her best friend because Tory was mad that victim Jarreck Reese was ending their friendship.

According to the script, Reese disappeared in 1999, and in 2015 his/her body was found in a submerged car belonging to the victim. Recent flooding had caused the car to be found.

“Another friend could have done it as s/he wrote a book about the disappearance and murder of Reese (before the car and body were found), which had similarities to the actual facts,” Willman said.

Meanwhile, an “eyewitness” claims that the defendant blackmailed him/her into cooperating to dispose of the car in the water.

The case includes nuances around marijuana use, memory lapse due to the 16-year passage of time, and a possible vendetta the eyewitness had against the defendant.

At the weekend competition, 10 awards were presented for best attorney and nine for best witness.

Awards for best attorney went to, from Glenwood Springs High School: Ryan Myler, Anton Freeman, Erin Bucchin, Sophia Hayes, Omar Baca, Ellie Moser and Chandler Hagemann; from Rifle High School: Kohl Keithley and Zephery Prestholt; and from Grand Junction High: McKenna Raimer.

Awards for best witness went to, from Glenwood Springs: Nina Aley, Harrison Coley and Jacob Cheney; from Rifle: Sam Steele and Caden Walton; from Grand Junction: McKenna Raimer and Katie Fain; and from Grand Junction R-5: Sharon Foster and J.T. Linn.