Make more room in the trophy case. A mock trial team from Eastern Kentucky University, which last spring placed 15th in the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) national tournament, finished first at the Wolverine Classic Invitational hosted by the University of Michigan Nov. 18-19.
EKU’s first-place squad finished with a record of 6-1-1, winning both ballots against the University of Illinois and the University of St. Thomas (Texas), splitting against Loyola University-Chicago, and earning a win and a tie against Michigan State University. Hayley Abbott, a senior political science major from Corbin, and Ryan Wiggins, a junior political science major from Georgetown, earned Outstanding Witness Awards for the first-place squad. Joseph Moore, a sophomore political science major from Bowling Green, earned an Outstanding Witness Award for EKU’s second team in the tournament.
Other members of EKU’s first-place squad were Mark Dvornak, a sophomore psychology major from Burlington; Laura Jackson, a senior political science major from Artemus; Brianna Palmer, a sophomore criminal justice major from Richmond; and Alexa Turner, a senior paralegal science and history major from Winchester. Moore, Dvornak, Jackson and Turner are all members of the EKU Honors Program.
The EKU Mock Trial program, which has finished 15th or higher in the AMTA national tournament three of the past eight years, is sponsored by the EKU College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences. Assisting with the program are Tom Parker, Lynnette Noblitt, Kristeena Johnson, James Tee Pennington and Dean Sara Zeigler.