By Amelia Kibbe
Features Assignment Editor
Mock trial knows how to bring down the gavel.
St. Bonaventure’s mock trial team will compete this weekend at the Opening Round Championship Series (ORCS) Tournament in Hamilton, Ohio. This is the next level after the team’s first-place win at the regional competition in Buffalo last month.
The team, comprised of 10 students, has had a successful season with first place finishes at nearly every competition. This is the first time in over a decade a Bonaventure team has qualified for the national-level tournament.
Although the team is fresh off a big win at regionals, they are working even harder for the national competition. Each time, the case has minor changes, and the team has to work with new ideas and concepts.
The competition’s field is tough; Bonaventure will be competing against schools such as Cornell, Syracuse, Stanford and Xavier. All together, 24 teams will compete, and the top six will move on to compete in the National Championship Tournament, in Orlando, Fla.
Alexander Noguerola, junior political science major and vice president of mock trial, received an Outstanding Attorney award for his performance at regionals. He said the team is excited about their success thus far and says he has high hopes for the next round.
“I am extremely proud of the team’s success,” Noguerola said. “We performed at a very high caliber, and it is just a testament to all the hard work and dedication the team puts in throughout the year. Since we have been back, we have spent many hours updating our examinations and statements. Our team has continued their hard work to making the best case and team possible.”
Noguerola explained the American Mock Trial Association makes slight changes to the case for each competition, and the team has been working to adjust.
“We received some case changes over spring break and had a lot of communication about the changes and how it would affect our case,” Noguerola said.
Nick Taylor, a junior sociology major who received an award for Outstanding Witness, was also thrilled with the team’s recent success.
“Our team’s win at Regionals was unreal,” Taylor said. “We went into the tournament knowing that we could perform well, but we were not sure what to expect. So at closing ceremonies when they announced that St. Bonaventure had won the competition, we knew we had done something special.”
Taylor also said the team faces new obstacles at this higher level of competition.
“I think our team will face two main challenges at the next tournament,” Taylor said. “First will be incorporating the case changes into everything that we have been working on all year. The second challenge for our team will be competing against the schools at ORCS, many of which we have never seen before.”
Sebastian Bellm, a sophomore accounting major and a recipient of an Outstanding Attorney award, agreed with Taylor that the competition would be tough but said he was confident in the team’s ability.
“St. Bonaventure Mock Trial has reached a tremendous milestone in our recent regional tournament championship,” Bellm said. “More than anything, it showed us that hard works pays off and the incredible potential the team has in the future. The competition level at this upcoming tournament will be harder than anything this team has ever seen before. Every trial from here on out for the rest of the year will be the hardest and toughest trial of our mock trial careers.”
When it came to preparing for this tournament, Taylor and Bellm said practice is their secret to success.
“We’ve prepared for this tournament like we have prepared for everything this year: practice, practice, practice,” Bellm said.
Taylor added that most of the practice was integrating the changes into the case.
“We are practicing a lot in preparation for the next tournament,” Taylor added. “There are new witnesses to prepare, new theories and themes to work into our case and just a lot of work to be done. Luckily, everyone has remained dedicated to the program and has been more than willing to put countless hours into making these new case changes work.”
Bellm, Taylor and Noguerola are all hopeful for success this weekend. They believe with the hard work the team has done, Bonaventure is bound to do well.
“I am extremely optimistic about our team’s ability to succeed at this upcoming tournament. To be able to make it to the National Championship Tournament would be an amazing accomplishment and feat for our team,” Noguerola said.
Taylor said the team gained a lot of confidence at the last competition that would help them in the next level.
“You have to go in with your head held high, knowing full-on that you can compete with the teams around you,” Taylor added. “We will not be intimidated by any other teams. We will give it our all and try to win one for our team.”
Bellm said no matter the team’s finish this weekend, the mock trail season has been a great success and a lot of fun. He is confident this winning streak can continue.
“If I have learned anything this year, it’s that it’s not over until it’s over,” Bellm said. “We might not have the history these other programs have, but we have the heart and the dedication. Why not us?”
kibbeaa13@bonaventure.edu
