Mock Trial completes fall invitational season with a trophy

Carthage Mock Trial completed its fall invitational season by winning a trophy at the Fantastic Flyer tournament hosted by Lewis University.

Carthage Mock Trial at the Fantastic Flyer tournament. Twenty teams from across the Midwest competed. Carthage Red finished with a record of 5-2-1 and a fourth-place finish. They took their first two ballots from Purdue, two more from Lewis, and 1.5 in the final round from Illinois-Chicago, which had been leading the tournament at the time. Andrew Marron ’26 won Outstanding Attorney awards, this time on both the prosecution and defense sides of the case. Carthage Black finished the tournament with a respectable 3-3-2 record.

The teams also competed at Illinois State University Nov. 3-5 and Oct. 21-22 at home when Carthage hosted the Dairyland Challenge. Andrew won Outstanding Attorney awards at each of those tournaments as well.

This year’s case is the criminal matter of State of Midlands v. De la Porta and Poe Cameron. During the annual charity gala for Sohi Children’s Hospital, four masked individuals break into the vault at Miller Tower in the city of Santa Ivo. During the robbery, one of the armed robbers and Emory Sands, a Miller Tower security officer, are severely wounded. Two of the robbers flee via a helicopter that was on the rooftop of Miller Tower. The other two robbers flee into the streets of Santa Ivo. After an extensive investigation on both the local and federal level, Poe Cameron is arrested as one of the four suspected armed robbers. Local billionaire Berkley De la Porta is also arrested for funding the criminal operation.

Members of the Mock Trial Team act as attorneys and witnesses and present the case as the prosecution or defense. Scores are based on performance, knowing the facts of the case, and understanding the law. The rules and objections are based on the Federal Rules of Evidence.

Both teams will continue preparing for their final invitational tournament on Jan. 28-29 in Chicago before competing in the regional tournament at UW-Madison Feb. 16-18.

This year’s team members:

Carthage Red

• Grace Anderson ’26
• Lily Anderson ’26 **
• Elizabeth Lalonde ’25
• Andrew Marron ’26 **
• Michaela Moore ’24
• Marcus Stubbs ’26
• Holly Valentine ’25

Carthage Black

• Diego Alvarez ’26
• Olivia Bamlett ’27
• Alison Blakely ’25
• Taliyah Carson ’25
• Aiden Farkas ’26 **
• Basil Kiracofe ’27 **
• Madelyn Leppiaho ’25
• Arian Maciejewski ’26
• Carter Rus ’26 **
• Alayna Tetrick ’26

** Team Captains

The team is coached by Michael Phegley, professor of management and marketing, and attorney Margaret Zienkiewicz, adjunct faculty of management and marketing. Liv Higgins ’22 is an assistant coach to the team. Also assisting the team this season are Jon Allen ’22 and Alicia Lederhaus ’23.

If you have an interest in law school or want to further develop public speaking, critical thinking, and team-building skills, send an email to Prof. Phegley at mphegley@carthage.edu for more information about joining the team.

Sponsoring Department, Office, or Organization:

Carthage Mock Trial Team

For more information, contact:

Michael Phegley: mphegley@carthage.edu