East Islip Mock Trial Team Shines In Virtual Tournament

Press release from the East Islip School District:

August 18 2020

Over the summer, East Islip High School has joined the mock trial community in fully embracing the virtual environment, with rising senior Kaitlyn Rice invited to compete in the prestigious Gladiator National Tournament for the second year in a row.

Run by UCLA’s law program, the Gladiator event allows the top 40 high school mock trial students to compete one-on-one in four rounds of competition. This year’s Gladiator was conducted fully online. Rice performed spectacularly and was recognized with the Nobility Award, granted to the most ethical and team-spirited competitor as voted on by her peers.

East Islip’s mock trial team, coached by Patricia Lester, has also been invited to participate in two other online tournaments, Empire Online and the Yale Bulldog Invitational. Both occur at roughly the same time in October, so the school was only able to participate in one of the events, choosing Yale. In addition, the New York State High School Mock Trial tournament is also exploring having an online tournament in the spring.

This press release was produced by the East Islip School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.