Mock Trial Team Earns Honorable Mention in National Tournament

The Eastern Kentucky University Mock Trial Team earned Honorable Mention (top 15) recognition in the National Championship Mock Trial Tournament, held April 15-17 in Des Moines, Iowa.

The EKU team finished with a 4-4 record. Eastern lost to the second-place University of Chicago team, split ballots with Penn and Boston University, and beat The Ohio State University on both ballots. It finished ahead of teams from Washington University, Drake University, Swarthmore College, Rhodes College, the University of Southern California and Case Western Reserve University.

EKU’s Benica Triplet, a senior psychology major from Fulton, was honored as an All-American Witness. She was the only witness in the tournament to receive a perfect score of 20 on one side of the case and to also qualify for an award on the other side of the case. Triplet is the top-ranked witness in the nation.

Other members of the team were James Pennington, Manchester; Sara Martin, Dawson Springs; Alexandra Sipes, Mt. Sterling; William Foster, Gilbertsville; Zac Caldwell, Elizabethtown; Benica Triplet, Fulton; Chloe Richardson, Orient, Ohio; Alyssa McNabb, Jonesborough, Tenn.; and Cody Ison, Catlettsburg. Martin and Sipes are members of EKU’s nationally recognized Honors Program.

Coaches are Sara Zeigler, Lynnette Noblitt and Tom Parker. Financial support is provided by the College of Justice & Safety, the College of Arts & Sciences, University Programs, the Department of Government, and Distinguished Alumnus Robert Sanders.

Published on April 18, 2011