Mock Trial Team Captures Tournament Title

The EKU Mock Trial team, ranked 23rd nationally out of 600-plus teams, captured first place in its own Robert E. Sanders Mock Trial Invitational Tournament, held Oct. 30-31 at courthouses in Lexington.

The EKU squad finished with a record of 7-1, splitting the two judges’ ballots with the second-place team from Rhodes College during the final round. EKU students won ballots in rounds against the University of Cincinnati, Miami University and Duke University in the first three rounds. Other teams participating in the competition included Furman University, Middle Tennessee State University, Washington University, Bellarmine University, Murray State University, Loyola University of Chicago, Ohio Northern University and Sullivan University.

Two EKU students received individual awards. Zac Caldwell, a political science/philosophy major from Elizabethtown, and Alyssa McNabb, forensic science major from Greenville, Tenn., tied as the top-ranked student witnesses in the tournament.

In addition to Caldwell, other members of the first-place team included Alexandra Sipes, Mt. Sterling; Sara Martin, Dawson Springs; Will Foster, Syracuse, N.Y.; Regina Lewis, Harveysburg, Ohio; Dee Davey, Parma, Ohio; and James Pennington, Manchester. McNabb was on the second EKU team.

Sipes and Martin (pictured above) are also members of EKU’s nationally recognized Honors Program.

The program is managed by Dr. Sara Zeigler, and the coaches are Tom Parker and Lynnette Noblitt, both attorneys who are faculty members in the Department of Government.

Financial support for the EKU team is provided by Distinguished Alumnus Robert E. Sanders, the College of Justice and Safety, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Government and University Programs.