Glenwood sends top mock trial team on to state

Glenwood Springs High School will send its Mock Trial Team 1 to the state mock trial tournament in Golden next month, after the seven-member team emerged Sunday from the Western Slope Regional tournament as the top competitor.

Glenwood Springs hosted the regional meet Friday through Sunday at the Garfield County Courthouse, with a total of six teams from GSHS, Roaring Fork/CRMS, Rifle and Grand Junction R-5 high schools competing.

The combined Roaring Fork and CRMS team from Carbondale, competing in just its first year, took second place, while Glenwood High’s Team 2 took third place.

This year’s mock trial case, as determined by state sponsor the Colorado Bar Association, is a civil liability case involving a car-bike accident, the cause of which was either the teenage driver of the car who was texting on his cell phone at the time, or the young adult bicyclist who was talking on his “hands-free” work cell phone.

Presiding judges at the regional tournament included local judges and magistrates, and teams were scored by attorneys from throughout the Western Slope.

Students from Colbran Job Corps also attended all five rounds, sitting as the jury and rendering verdicts in each round.

The jury members also acknowledged the new Roaring Fork/CRMS team with the “most impressive team” award, said organizers of the event in a news release.

Another new award, the Judge’s Cup, also went to the Carbondale/CRMS team for their “professionalism and upholding the goals and objectives of the CBA’s High School Mock Trial Competition,” according to the news release.

Individual awards were also given for:

Best Attorney — Ben Neiley, Lindsay Rachesky, Ryan Myler, Grace Nilsson, Evan Carrington, Olivia Hayes, Liam Savage and Francesca Chavez, Glenwood Springs; Halah Harman from Rifle; and Emily Mata from the Carbondale/CRMS team.

Best Witness — Rorey Freeman, Grace Nillson, Nancy Fernandez, Olivia Hayes, Liam Savage and Evan Carrington, Glenwood Springs; and Naomi Pulver, Caleb Wexler, Emily Mata and Ana Lizsarraga from Carbondale/CRMS.

District Judge John Neiley and Clerk of the Courts James Bradford were also instrumental in putting on the local tournament.

The Mock Trial State Championship will take place March 14 and 15 at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Golden.