State College Area High School Team Wins Mock Trial Competition

State College Area High School advanced to the 29th Annual Pennsylvania Bar Association Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition on March 22-23 in Harrisburg. The Region 4 final took place on March 11, 2013 in the Federal Courthouse in Williamsport. Magistrate Judge William Arbuckle presided at the trial.

The winning team of Nikhil Ananth, Evan O'Neill, Amanda Reese, Alicia Lai, Isabel Restall, Lina Duiker and Julia Laplante represented Tatum Zillias, a contractor accused of murder as a result of a crane collapse at a construction site, and also portrayed the witnesses in the case.

State College Area High School is moving on to state level as winners of the Region 4 area of competition that includes schools in Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Elk, Lycoming, McKean, Montour, Northumberland, Potter, Snyder, Tioga and Union counties.  This is the second straight regional championship for State College.

The winner of the state competition will represent Pennsylvania in the National High School Mock Trial Championship in Indianapolis.

A team from Coudersport Area Jr Sr High School were runners up. The team of Nicole Fink, Gabe Trimbur, Ethan Hite, Philip Andrus, Joel Pepper and Thomas Heller prosecuted the murder case, and also played the witnesses for the prosecution.

Congratulations to both teams for a job well done.