Mock Trial

Hatting Mock Trial Invitational Tournament 2019

Great results to report from the weekend. The UMD Mock Trial competition team went 6-2 and took 2nd Place honors this weekend at the University of St. Thomas School of Law Hatting Invitational in downtown Minneapolis. The team's only losses came against the University of Texas - Austin, a very polished team that went undefeated and took top honors at the tournament. St. Olaf and St. Thomas rounded out the top teams in 3rd and 4th. Audrey Baumgarter, UMD's Mock Trial President and lead plaintiff counsel for the team, took top attorney honors with a perfect score of 20 across all four rounds. 
 
For our incredibly talented seniors, this represented the first time they have had the opportunity to take home top team honors during their time at UMD. The team win serves as both a wonderful punctuation mark on four years of hard work and dedication to this program, and also a great motivator for the upcoming Regional competition in late February. The St. Paul Regionals will once again draw a loaded field from all over the country, but the UMD team has now moved to two practices per week, they scrimmaged all day last Sunday against the UWS Mock Trial team for additional practice, and they are absolutely pouring their hearts and souls into this preparation. It has been an inspiration to watch this team grow, learn and band together. 

Hatting Mock Trial Invitational Tournament 2011

The Hatting Mock Trial Invitational is held every year at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in downtown Minneapolis. In recent years, UMD has performed well at this tournament, placing second one year and first another year. UMD teams weren’t in the winner’s circle this year, but two individual UMD students turned in stellar performances.

This year’s top finishers were these schools:
1. Grinnell College from Iowa,
2. Gonzaga from Washington State,
3. Macalester,
4. University of Arizona, Tucson.

UMD’s fortunate to be in Minnesota, with tournaments that attract mockers from universities across the country.

UMD’s “A” team finished with a record of 3 wins and 5 losses, which put it in 12th place. Unfortunately, half of their rounds were against teams that finished in the top 4. That’s the luck of the draw at any tournament. UMD’s “B+” team finished with a record of 2 wins, 5 losses, and 1 tie. A total of 20 teams competed, including the University of Missouri, Kansas City which placed eighth.

Amelia McDonah turned in another compelling performance as Midlands patrol officer Ryan K. Foster, earning herself an Outstanding Witness Award. Her award was especially noteworthy because she earned it with a perfect score of 20. A perfect score means every judge, in every round she played Ryan K. Foster scored her the best witness in the trial. Amelia’s performance is reminiscent of Jack Webb’s portrayal of Sergeant Joe Friday in the television series Dragnet. Amelia will be with us again next year, mocking her heart out for UMD.

Alex Hagstrom continued his winning ways. His attorney role earned him individual recognition as an Outstanding Defense Attorney. Alex delivers strong performances as both a defense attorney and as a prosecuting attorney, earning Outstanding Attorney Awards in all but one tournament this season. Alex is a senior and we’ll miss him next year.

American Mock Trial Association Regional Qualifying Tournament February 2011

UMD’s two mock trial teams were among 24 teams competing in the American Mock Trial Association Regional Tournament at University of Wisconsin, Superior. Eight teams from each region qualify to receive an invitation to the Opening Round National Championship in March. UMD team 1288 qualified to advance to the national level and has accepted its invitation. Team 1288 placed seventh, with a record of 5 wins and 3 losses. As usual, competition was stiff. All teams placing 5, 6, and 7 had 5 wins and 3 losses, with no more than 3 points separating them. Two UMD students earned awards for their individual performances. Josselyn Hill earned an award as an Outstanding Witness for her work on UMD team 1289. Josselyn was new to mock trial this year and was responsible for preparing four different witness roles for the tournament. Ryan Lyk won an award as an Outstanding Attorney on UMD team 1288. Ryan had attorney roles for both the plaintiff and defendant, which gives him the tough job of keep the two sides of the case straight. He has won at least one Outstanding Attorney award at every tournament this season. UMD’s team 1289 finished with a record of 3 wins and 5 losses.

The Season Continues for UMD Team 1288 UMD’s Team 1288 will compete in the Opening Round National Championship at the Ramsey County Courthouse on March 25-27, 2011. There will be a total of 24 teams from seven states at the Opening Round. Before the Regional Qualifying Tournament earlier this month, there were 630 mock trial teams in the nation, all hoping to advance. UMD is among the 192 teams advancing to an Opening Round National Championship.

Opening Round competitions will be held in March at eight cities throughout the country: White Plains, Washington DC, Memphis, Greenville, St. Paul, Hamilton, Irvine, and Waukegan. Of these top teams in the nation, 48 will advance from the Opening Round to the National Championship Tournament in Des Moines on April 15-17, 2011.

At the Opening Round National Championship, UMD will face teams from at least seven states: Illinois, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota. These teams are the best of the best in the Midwest.

Hatting Mock Trial Invitational Tournament, January 2011

The Hatting Mock Trial Invitational is held every year at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. UMD has established itself as a dominant force at this tournament. Last year UMD placed second and the year before UMD placed first.

This year, we didn’t do that well. UMD’s “A” team finished with a record of 4 wins and 4 losses, which put it in 9th place. UMD’s “B+” team finished with a record of 2 wins, 5 losses, and 1 tie for a finish in 15th place. There were 18 teams coming from as far away as Boulder, Colorado. Grinnell took 1st place.

Ryan Lyk continues to shine. Once again, he earned two awards: one as an Outstanding Plaintiff’s Attorney and a second award as an Outstanding Defense Attorney. This is quite a distinction anytime, but especially noteworthy because Ryan was the only competitor to win two awards as both an attorney and witness. He is certainly a focused and Aside from statistics, the esprit de corps of the “B+” team continues to impress. It is the best of any team I’ve coached at UMD. They are truly having fun, are personally dedicated to each other, and put the team’s mission ahead of their individual interests

Macalester II Mock Trial Tournament, December 2010

This was a memorable tournament for UMD’s mock trial program. St. Paul had been hit by a terrible blizzard and only UMD’s “B” could get there for the competition.

Our “B” team earned the Eighth Place Trophy with a record of 5 wins and 3 losses. To the best of anyone’s recollection, this is the first time a UMD “B” team has earned a trophy at an invitational tournament. For the rest of the season, they will be known as the “B+” Team.

Our B team also produced some outstanding individual performances that earned individual recognition. Ehren Minkema earned an individual award as an Outstanding Plaintiff Witness. This is his first year with mock trial and we are looking forward to continued good work from him. Katie Kouba earned an individual award as an Outstanding Plaintiff Attorney with a perfect score of 20. Katie has turned in many wonderful performances over the past two years and her hard work has now been recognized in competition. She has dedicated much effort and time to mock trial and is a true asset to UMD.

Mock Trial Tournament, November 2010

UMD’s “A” team competed in the Macalester I Mock Trial Tournament on November 5-7, 2010. UMD finished with 4 wins and 4 losses.

This was a large competition, with 50 teams coming from 7 states. Seventeen teams finished with win-loss records better than UMD, which clearly placed UMD in the upper half of the field. The strength of the completion can be gauged by looking at the list of the top finishers.

First Place: University of Notre Dame.
Second Place: Washington State University.
Third Place: University of Notre Dame.
Fourth Place: Michigan State University.
Fifth Place: Macalester College.
Sixth Place: University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Once again, UMD’s Ryan Lyk distinguished himself for his individual excellence. In this tournament, he earned personal recognition as an Outstanding Attorney for the defense. I estimate there were probably 400 students on the 50 teams competing at Mac I, which makes this recognition especially noteworthy. This is Ryan’s fourth Outstanding Attorney award in three tournaments so far this season.

Mock Trial Tournament, October 2010

The St. Olaf Mock Trial Tournament was only one week after the U of M tournament, which had been used as part of our auditions for UMD’s “A” team. Our new “A” team was sent to St. Olaf.

At St. Olaf, UMD placed 6th out of 28 teams. UMD finished with a record of 5 wins, 2 losses, and 1 tie. The first place team was 7-1 and the second through fifth place teams all had records of 6 wins. Each of UMD’s 2 losses was by 1 point. The top teams, including UMD, were tightly grouped.

UMD’s Ryan Lyk earned two personal honors at St. Olaf. He won an award of Outstanding Plaintiff’s Attorney with 19 points. He also won an award of Outstanding Defense Attorney with a perfect score of 20 points. He was the only person in the tournament to win two awards. Winning two awards is amazing, and he was singled out at the awards ceremony for special recognition.