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WOODS CROSS -- Woods Cross High School made history on March 27 by becoming the first Mock Trial State champions in Davis County. The team competed at the Scott Matheson Courthouse in the Court of Appeals, and will now go on to compete nationally in Albuquerque.
The team competed by performing a mock trial civil case, Malcolm vs. Utopian Zoo. The case consisted of Taylor Malcolm, the plaintiff, disturbing a large gorilla while on a safari tram ride at the Utopian Zoo. The large gorilla charged the tram, and when the tour guide tried to shoot the gorilla with a tranquilizer gun, he missed and instead hit Malcolm. Malcolm became unconscious and slumped over the side of the train, where he was bit by the large gorilla on the arm.
The Woods Cross team had to prepare both sides of the case, but ended up defending Malcolm in the State competition. The case was a comparative negligence case, and they had to prove that the Utopian Zoo was more negligent than their client.
The team spent days preparing for the case with the help of their coach, Mrs. Brooke Gregg. The preparation paid off and resulted in a close victory of only a few points.
"We are ecstatic," said senior, Kaitie Jowers. "We are still in shock. No team in Davis School District has ever won Mock Trial State Championships. It's a great honor that we were able to do so well."
The team consisted of Kaitie Jowers, Cannon Nicholls, Sam Mecham, Mckay Holbrook, Dani Searle, Lance Allred, Aqsa Dalal, and Erick Luna. "We work together really well, and we know each other's strengths and weaknesses and what we can expect from each other," Jowers said. "We couldn't be more proud and excited for ourselves, our team, our coach, and all those who helped us get to where we are."
The team is preparing now to compete in the National Championships. "It is a much bigger and tougher case, but we are working hard and ready for the challenge," Jowers said. "We can't wait for the opportunity to compete at the national level against the best teams in the country."
