The Illinois State mock trial team is advancing to the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) Opening Round Championship Series (ORCS). This is the ninth time in ten years that the Redbirds have earned this distinction.
ISU Squad 1123 garnered a 6-2 record at the Regional Tournament held February 17-18 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The other Redbird team, Squad 1124 had a record of 3-5.
At closing ceremonies, AMTA officials presented three Illinois State students with awards for their individual performances. Michael Sheldon and Myles McLean, seniors majoring in Legal Studies, were named outstanding attorneys. Ann Stranges, a senior who double-majors in Political Science and Legal Studies, was named outstanding witness.
ISU, along with teams from the University of Chicago, Indiana University, Cornell College, and Drake University will advance to ORCS for a March competition. AMTA assigned ISU to the Geneva, Illinois ORCS site. The top six teams from each ORCS tournament will go to AMTA’s National Championship Tournament in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Squad 1123 won six ballots in rounds involving Grinnell College, University of Iowa, Cornell College, and St. Thomas University. It lost two ballots by a single point.
Squad 1124 took both ballots in a round against Western Illinois University. They split ballots with Loras College, and lost rounds against the University of Chicago and Northwestern University.
The two ballots squad 1123 lost were by a single point. This was an unusually competitive tournament this year. Twenty-seven teams competed and only seven advanced. Northwestern University and the University of Iowa did not qualify for ORCS.
Students interested in the mock trial program should contact Professor McClure at temcclu@ilstu.edu.
