Springfield High School mock trial team places in national competition

The Springfield High School Mock Trial team placed in the top 10 at the national competition.

Over the weekend, the top teams from each U.S. state, territory and South Korea competed at the National High School Mock Trial Competition.

After four rounds, Springfield High School finished in ninth place.

Senior Melissa McMahon was also selected as a “Top 10 Outstanding Attorney” out of the 288 student attorneys in the competition.

The members of the national team include seniors Hannah Mattison, McMahon, Joel Blum, Ben Oehlers, freshmen Caroline Yontz, Emerson Babian and Aria Mills. The team is coached by Katy Osborn, education attorney at Bricker Graydon, Megan Farley, assistant Franklin County prosecutor, and faculty advisor Keith Fry.

In March, the Springfield team beat out nearly 250 Ohio schools in the state championship, the first in school history, and earned the way to the national competition.

Ohio Mock Trial offers an innovative approach to learning the law and how the legal system functions, where students participate in an original, unscripted simulated trial written by attorneys. High school students argue both sides of the case in real courtrooms across the state.

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