On the weekend of Jan 18 the Spring Grove Mock Trial teams competed in the Ben Franklin Invitational at the University of Pennsylvania, with Team 1 achieving an honorable mention amidst weather and technical challenges.
Spring Grove had powerful performances on day one, and after being forced to compete virtually on day two, they faced some hiccups. However with stellar performances from teams A, B, and C; they finished it out strong. John Reilly achieved an outstanding attorney award on team one.
In early October, the PA Mock Trial association releases a fictional court case for students to analyze and perform. Students work tirelessly to bring witnesses to life and carefully craft solid arguments for both sides; they eventually compete the sides against one another at competition.
The SG Mock teams compete in three pre-season tournaments in the lead up to the competition season. For the BFI at U-Penn, teams usually leave the school at 5 am on Saturday morning, and return around 11pm Sunday night.
However after a strong day one performance, the students got crushing news; They would have to go home early. The snow was forecasted to get up to six inches in the Philadelphia area, and the roads the SG teams relied on were in danger of closing. The tournament directors offered zoom trials for day two since over half of the teams had to leave due to the hazardous conditions.
The teams packed up their luggage and after waiting for their transportation for an hour in the hotel lobby, they left Philadelphia at around 11pm. The bus ride home was quiet, a mix of disappointment and pure exhaustion. The students had all gotten up at 4:30am or before in order to make it to the tournament. Finally, at nearly 2am Sunday morning, the Spring Grove bus reached the high school.
