A mock trial team from Dixie Heights High School earned the state championship for the second year in a row, winning the Kentucky High School Mock Trial Tournament hosted by Eastern Kentucky University and held March 4-6 in Richmond and Lexington.
Dixie Heights defeated Madison Central High School, winning seven of 11 ballots in a closely contested rematch of last year’s championship round. As the state champion, Dixie Heights will represent Kentucky at the National High School Mock Trial Competition in Boise, Idaho, in May.
Andrew Bosma, a junior on the Dixie Heights squad, earned the Outstanding Witness Award for his performance in the championship trial. John Wilson, a senior at Madison Central, earned the Outstanding Attorney Award for his performance in the final round.
EKU took over the state competition in 2013 after budget cuts forced the state’s Administrative Office of the Courts to eliminate its funding of the program. Thomas Parker, the pre-law adviser and coordinator of EKU’s undergraduate Mock Trial Program, has served as state coordinator of the tournament the past four years.
The Kentucky High School Mock Trial Tournament receives supplemental funding from EKU University Programs and administrative support from the EKU Department of Government. Facilities for the tournament were provided by the Kentucky Circuit and District Courts in Lexington and the EKU College of Business and Technology.