Mock Trial Team Moves on to State Competition

Know a great kid who made Eagle Scout or did your local soccer team take the championship? They may be our next Patch Whiz Kid honoree.

Each week, Shorewood Patch will seek suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens, and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments.

We want to hear about these amazing children and teens, and select one each week as the Patch Whiz Kid.  Submit your nomination in our comment box below or e-mail the information to Editor Adam McCoy.

Here's our first Whiz Kid:

• Team: Shorewood High School Mock Trial Team
  
• Accomplishments: The Varsity Mock Trial team took first place at a regional contest last weekend to advance to a semifinal round March 13, at the Dane County Courthouse in Madison. Shorewood's junior varisty team took second place.
  
  The Mock Trial team is a group of students that replicate a legal trial. This year their case includes a dispute between two siblings over an elderly parent. One sibling is arguing the other is draining the parent's bank account.
  
  The varsity team including Shorewood students Casey Tolan, Sofia Jonas, Lydia Hartlaub, Emilia Brahm, Rose Yearel, Ailsa Harju, Montana Morris, Seth Jensen, Micayla Lubka and Zan Song will compete against 11 other Wisconsin schools for the final round.

• Key to Awesomeness: "They pretty much run on adrenaline that whole day of regionals... they work really hard," mock trial teacher coach and Shorewood High School social studies teacher Debra Schwinn said. "Shorewood has a reputation for winning the Milwaukee region but the reason is those kids practice six hours a week, week in week out and they work very, very hard."
  
  She said the students really enjoy the mental challenge of mock trial competition. They really do have to learn the law and went in confident that they could win the competition Schwinn added.
  
  "By the time they're seniors, they're as good or better than any lawyer I have ever seen, " Schwinn said.