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Wednesday, March 3, 2021

UCHS Mock Trial team advances to state

The Unicoi County High School Mock Trial team advanced to the state competition with a first-place finish in the Tennessee High School Mock Trial regional competition on Saturday, Feb. 20. Rachel Lynch, left, took home third place overall for best attorney for the UCHS Mock Trial team during the event. Lynch is pictured with Olivia Brackens, who served as the witness Lynch questioned during the competition. (Contributed photo)
The Unicoi County High School Mock Trial team advanced to the state competition with a first-place finish in the Tennessee High School Mock Trial regional competition on Saturday, Feb. 20. Rachel Lynch, left, took home third place overall for best attorney for the UCHS Mock Trial team during the event. Lynch is pictured with Olivia Brackens, who served as the witness Lynch questioned during the competition. (Contributed photo)
By Curtis Carden
Sports Writer

Nashville has almost become a second home for the Unicoi County High School Mock Trial team.

The future lawyers of the Valley Beautiful punched their third consecutive ticket to the Tennessee High School Mock Trial state competition with a first-place finish in the regional competition on Saturday, Feb. 20, in Jonesborough.
UCHS students will compete at the state event in Nashville on March 18-19, according to attorney coach Sarah Shults.

Shults also said Saturday’s event came down to the wire with the team ultimately earning the win after defeating Dobyns-Bennett in the final round of the day. Dobyns-Bennett finished second in the competition, while Science Hill took home third place honors.

“I’m very proud of the entire team,” Shults told The Erwin Record on Monday, Feb. 22. “The students received several compliments the entire day. There was one attorney who served as a judge and said that they were the classiest group of kids ever.”

Along with team awards, including Carter Powers earning team MVP, junior Rachel Lynch received a third-place award for “best attorney” of the event out of the teams in attendance. It was a busy day for the junior, Shults added with a laugh, as she didn’t have time to accept the award due to a district tournament basketball game later that day in Colonial Heights.

The standout performance by the students now has the team set to square off against more than 10 teams across the state as they aim for first place honors.

“We’re going to take a few days to rest,” Shults said. “I’m proud of the team for working hard and having a chance to go to the state meet again.

The UCHS Mock Trial team is comprised of: Powers, Lynch, Elizabeth Sutphin, Christian Leon, Alex Carter, Aurora Whitson, Brenna Jones, Megan Todd, Alex Lamie, Isaiah Tipton, Olivia Brackens, Katie Larimer, Daniel Campbell and Leanna Hager.

Teams competing during Saturday’s event went through the case of Ashton Stephinghul v. Thorobern Appliances, Inc.
Mock Trial teams across the state work in conjunction with the Tennessee Bar Association.