EKU Mock Trial Earns Coveted Bid to L.A.

For the third straight year, Eastern Kentucky University’s Mock Trial Team has earned a trip to the American Mock Trial Association’s (AMTA) National Championship Tournament. EKU finished with a 7-1 record at the AMTA Memphis Opening Round Championship Series, good for third place and a trip to Los Angeles to compete for the national title. EKU’s NCT-bound team has lost only a single ballot in AMTA competition this spring after going undefeated at regionals.

EKU took both ballots in its first-round matchup against the University of Houston, then split ballots in the second round against Baylor University. The team then swept its final four ballots, claiming victories against the University of Loyola-Chicago and Saint Louis University. By finishing third in the 24-team tournament, EKU earned a bid to AMTA’s National Championship Tournament (NCT) in Los Angeles, California, on April 21-23, 2017. 48 teams will compete at the NCT out of the 608 teams that competed in AMTA this season, putting EKU among the top 8% of teams nationwide.

Allie Maples, a senior political science major from Mount Sterling, received yet another Outstanding Attorney Award for her performance at the tournament. Tyler Swafford, a senior globalization and international affairs major from Franklin, Tennessee, earned his first Outstanding Witness Award for his portrayal of the defendant CEO in the case.

Other members of the EKU squad included Hayley Abbott, a junior political science major from Corbin; Laura Jackson, a junior Political Science major from Artemus; Melissa Mahan, a senior anthropology major from Bloomington, Illinois; Brianna Palmer, a freshman criminal justice major from Richmond; Angel Spurlock, a senior chemistry teaching major from Rockcastle; Alexa Turner, a junior paralegal and history major from Winchester; and Ryan Wiggins, a sophomore political science and psychology major from Georgetown. Maples, Swafford, Jackson, Spurlock, and Turner are all members of the EKU Honors Program.

The EKU Mock Trial program is sponsored by the EKU College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences. Faculty and staff assisting with the program include Tom Parker, Lynnette Noblitt, Brandon Williams, Kristeena Johnson, and Dean Sara Zeigler.

Published on March 20, 2017