Mock Trial is a competition in which students mock law. Mock Trial has a hypothetical case with every aspect of a real case. The team takes a role as either an attorney or a witness to present in front of a judge in a real courthouse. The past few years this has been a little different and has mostly been virtual due to COVID-19 restrictions. The team practices twice a week: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3-5 p.m. in Coach Laura Epland’s room. Owatonna is the regional champions this year and will be moving onto the state tournament. 

The team has gotten very close over the season and has worked hard together. Senior Fardouza Farah said, “My favorite part of being in Mock Trial is the team. I think working together to decode the case has made us a lot closer.” Mock Trial is largely a team effort and requires critical thinking skills. Due to different restrictions, most of these tournaments have been virtual except for a scrimmage tournament earlier in the year which was in person. 

The team is stoked to be competing in the state competition this year. Junior Lileigh Nguyen said, “We are all excited to just be able to compete at the tournament, even if it is virtual.” The team is excited to see how other teams approached the same case. Coach Epland said, “I do not know the last time Owatonna has made it to state. We are anxiously looking forward to competing against schools from outside our region and seeing how other teams have pieced together the case.” 

There was a celebration open to the public with treats for the team on Feb. 28 from 2:45-3:15p.m. in the small group forum to celebrate the team heading off to state.  

Owatonna will be competing virtually at state on March 3 and 4.