OLYMPIA—MARCH 25, 2012— Seattle Prep’s Varsity Team took top honors this Sunday as the 2012 champion of the statewide YMCA Mock Trial Competition. The team is now eligible to compete for the national Mock Trial title in Albuquerque, New Mexico, scheduled for May 3 – 6. 

Washington Supreme Court Justice Susan J. Owens presided over the championship trial in Olympia between Seattle Prep’s Varsity and Franklin High School of King County competing for the title.  

Top ten finalists of the competition are as follows:

• 1st place: Seattle Prep Varsity 
•  2nd place: Franklin High School
•  3rd place: King’s High School
• 4th place: Meridian High School
• 5th place: International Community School Varsity
•  6th place: Sehome High School
•  7th place: Eastside Catholic High School
• 8th place: Seattle Prep Junior Varsity
• 9th place: Ridgefield High School
• 10th place: University Prep Blue

The final round Best Attorney Award went to Alexandra Dullea of Seattle Prep, and the Best Witness Award went to Ben Megathlin of Franklin High School. 

A total of 22 high school teams from across the state competed for the title in a three-day, four-round competition this weekend at the Thurston County Courthouse.

Once again this year, the students had a lively and topical case to try.  It arose from the clash of an aggressive urban bicyclist and a motorist who may have been either driving while oblivious or homicidal.  The legal context was a life insurance coverage dispute focusing on whether the biker’s death resulted from her own reckless or illegal conduct.

This is the 25th year for the YMCA Mock Trial program, which began in 1987. Mock Trial is part of the YMCA’s Youth & Government program, which helps students experience democracy in action. Mock Trial allows students to participate in true-to-life courtroom drama before real judges in real courtrooms, gaining an understanding of the law and the role of the judiciary.

PROGRAM CONTACTS: Seattle Prep Head Coach Andy McCarthy, 206-931-1058 (cell); Judge Robert Lewis, Mock Trial Program Chair at 360-397-2226; Sarah Clinton, Executive Director, YMCA Youth and Government Program at (360) 480-4838 (cell).