Signal Mountain High students finish first and third in the District Mock Trial Competition
For the third year in a row, Signal Mountain High School is the champion in the Chattanooga District for the Tennessee High School Mock Trial competition. This year, 20 teams competed which is the most to compete in the Chattanooga District event. A second Signal Mountain team finished third in the competition, making this the first year the school had two teams in the finals.
There were two championship matches for the Chattanooga District in the competition, with the winning teams from each match going to the state tournament in Nashville. The champion team was Signal Mountain Black, comprised of students: Ethan Fell, Tehreem Hussain, Luke Whitney, Jack Poss, Ryan McGregor, Camilla Mincey, David Cornea, Caroline Cornett, Meredith Bennett, Maggie Meller, George Andreescu and Max Burk. After defeating the top team from the Girls Preparatory School in the finals, Signal Mountain Black emerged as the only undefeated team in the event. George Andreescu from Signal Mountain was awarded best witness for the match.
Signal Mountain Red finished third after a loss in the finals but had high enough scores throughout the competition to place third. Signal Mountain Red team members are Emma Wu, Megan Hanson, Abby Frank, May Mon, Claire Lynch, Lainey Jenkins, Yoonie Yang, Hannah Morton, Carson Bock, Sean Goggins, and Camille Schmied. The Red team finished with only one loss in the competition. In the finals match, Emma Wu was named best attorney, and Claire Lynch best witness.
After three preliminary rounds, the two Signal Mountain teams were the only undefeated teams going into the finals. In those preliminary rounds, Ethan Fell from the Signal Mountain Black team earned best attorney for a round, Carson Bock from the Signal Mountain Red also was selected for a best attorney award for a round, and Camille Schmied from the Signal Mountain Red was best witness. Signal Mountain teams won three of the four possible awards for best witness and attorney in their preliminary rounds.
Mock trial is an extracurricular program in which students participate in rehearsed trials to learn about the legal system. The Signal Mountain High Mock Trial coaches are James Brooks, Tracy Cox, Scott Bennett, and Charlie Poss. The faculty representative is Lorrie Whitney.
Photos: Left top - Signal Mountain Black team, Right bottom - Signal Mountain Red team