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GFS Mock Trial Team Places Second in State Championship

On Saturday, March 20, 2019, the GFS Mock Trial Varsity team placed second out of 300 teams in the annual Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition.

The state finals were held in the Dauphin County Courthouse in Harrisburg, PA, where the GFS team enjoyed three successful rounds during the finals, followed by a very close and spectacular fourth round against Holy Cross High School in Scranton, PA.

GFS advanced from the city competition at Temple Law School to the state championship, consisting of the 14 best of 300 teams from across Pennsylvania, including Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia. In three of the last four years, our students have made it to the City Championship at Temple Law; Montgomery News covered the city competition in a recent article. This year was the first time the GFS varsity team advanced from the city competition to the state championship since its inception in 2012.

Congratulations to Chloe Smith Frank '19, Kim Hua '19, Javier Carmona '20, Brenden Dahl '20, Sarah Miller '20, Erin Schott '20, Ava Sinai '20, and Julian Spiro '20.

"Mock Trial has helped me become a better thinker, both when it comes to the law and to anything academic," says Erin Schott. "Through the Mock Trial program, I have learned how to construct an effective argument. I use skills I have acquired from Mock Trial when crafting essays, debating in class, and public speaking."

Ava Sinai notes, "Mock trial taught me to control my nerves and be a more confident public speaker. It is also really amazing to have a team where everyone trusts and supports each other."

The PBA/YLD (Pennsylvania Bar Association/Young Lawyer's Division) Mock Trial Competition, one of the largest in the nation, gives more than 300 high-school student teams from across the state the opportunity to act as lawyers and witnesses in simulated civil and criminal trials before actual judges and panels of juries.