Middle School Mock Trial Teams Advance to State

Johnston middle school students competed among forty other teams in the district Mock Trial competition on October 25and 26 at the downtown Des Moines Convention Center. Nine teams from the region advanced to state, and three of those teams, Firestorm, Gold, and Dragon, are from Johnston. The State competition will be held on November 14-16 at the same location and features 32 teams from across the state.

Receiving recognition at the school level are:

  • Most Improved Witness: Tanner Kenin, Julia Fergus, Gabi Michalski, Catreena Wang.
  • Most Improved Attorney: Stephen Beaman, Teja Jetty, Adam Poe, Julia Chen, Bea LaRota, Dylan McLaren.
  • Best Team Support: Rachel Winkler, Karsen Mumm, James Grimm, Ellie Lashier.
  • Most Dedicated Team Member: Zoey Kloewer, Elise Henrichsen, Rachel Ruisch, Chase McLaren.

Receiving recognition at the district level are:

  • Outstanding Attorney: Dylan McLaren, Maryam Mohammed, Morgan Dunn, Megan O’Brien, Stephen Beaman, Rachel Winkler, Zoey Kloewer.
  • Outstanding Witnesses: Sam McDaniel, Catreena Wang, Camille Furer, Julia Fergus.
  • Both Outstanding Witness and Outstanding Attorney Awards: Ellie Lashier, Rachel Ruisch, Elise Henrichsen, Tanner Kenin, Morgan Lee.

All teams and their coaches represented Johnston well. Teacher Kathy Paul coordinates the program. A combination of attorney and high school coaches, as well as teacher Colleen Ites provided valuable assistance.

L to R: Andrew Wedemeyer, Megan Jones, Katie Sweet, Catreena Wang, Ellie Lashier, Vivian Chen, Sam McDaniel, Chase McLaren, Dylan McLaren.
L to R: Karshana Kalyanaraman, Stephen Beaman, Dylan Coslin, Gus Arthur, Rachel Winkler, Zoey Kloewer, Morgan Lee, Tanner Kenin, Mikayla Dobson
L to R back: Andrew Holm, Julia Chen, Rachel Ruisch, Gabi Michalski, Jennifer Larson, Bea LaRota. L to R front: Camille Furer, James Grimm, Gordon Hu, Jenna Woodsmall.
L to R: Teja Jetty, Maryam Mohammed, Phoebe Smith, Megan O’Brien, Elise Henrichsen, Julia Fergus, Morgan Dunn, Karsen Mumm, Adam Poe.