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Mock Trial Team Competes in State Competition

Lake Ridge Academy's high school mock trial team is preparing for the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education State Competition on March 10th, continuing its successful season that started back in November. Lake Ridge's "blue" team has won both the districts and regionals competition of the last month, and is now preparing for state competition later this month. This will be Lake Ridge's 16th trip to state competition since the start of the program in 1997.

In this year's hypothetical case, an eatery called Fitzpatricks claims that the Covid regulations imposed by the government on restaurants during the pandemic caused the business to close; thus, overstepping the rights of the business.

Each team consists of 10 members: 4 attorneys, 4 witnesses, a bailiff, and a timekeeper. Members of the blue team consist of 4 Juniors (Shelby Bennett '23, Sereena Sperry '23, Hailey Sheibek '23, Sam Calcut' 23) and 6 Seniors (Tyler Young' 22, Joel Lacoste '22, Zane Haidar '22, Lindsey Eyring '22, Alex Sandhu '22, Megan Yang '22.)

Upon speaking with the team, Joel Lacoste '22 described the skills gained from competing in Mock Trial. "As a Senior, I've been fortunate enough to compete in this competitive program for four years now. Participating in Mock Trial at Lake Ridge has enabled us to pursue our intellectual vitality, while simultaneously bonding as a team. We wouldn't be able to make it to state competition without the help of our legal advisors, and working together as a team.