Regis Catholic Middle School wins mock trial state championship

A team of eighth graders from Regis Catholic Middle School in Cedar Rapids captured the championship in the 2011 Middle School Mock Trial State Tournament held in Des Moines November 17

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- 19

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by defeating an 8

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grade team from Johnston Middle School.  The 2011 championship round was held in the Iowa Supreme Court courtroom in the Judicial Branch Building.  Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady presided over the trial and was assisted by scoring judges, Emily Chafa, David Nelmark and Jennifer Zahradnik.

On its road to earn this year's state title, the Regis team defeated Pocahontas Middle School, Indian Hills Jr. High of West Des Moines, Urbandale Middle School, Johnston Middle School 7

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grade, and finally Johnston Middle School 8

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grade.  Members of the Regis 8

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Grade Red Team which won the state championship are Andrew Campbell, Emma Delaney, Annie Efting, Jamie Feltes, Jacob Miller, Henry Muhlena, Kaitlyn Nemikas, Katie Neumeyer, Mikayla Noonan and Jonah Scallon.

Jim Efting, an 8

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grade history teacher at Regis, coached the team along with attorneys Tim Semelroth, Emily Anderson, Cori Butkowski, Hon. Stephen Jackson, Jr., Stephen Jackson,  and Rich Murphy.  This is the fifth consecutive year that a team from Regis Middle School has won the state tournament.  It is also the 13

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time in the 27 years of middle school mock trial that a team from Regis has earned the state title.

A total of 183 teams participated in this year's middle school mock trial program, according to John Wheeler, director of The Iowa State Bar Association's Center for Law and Civic Education under whose auspices the program is run. That's an increase of about seven teams from last year. Iowa's middle school mock trial program is “by far the largest in the nation,” Wheeler says.  The top 32 teams from Regional Competitions across the state advanced to the state tournament.

In addition to this year's championship team, two 7

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Grade Teams from Regis, along with teams from Franklin Middle School, and Harding Middle School also participated in the state tournament after qualifying at a Regional Competition at Kirkwood Community College on October 30

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Trophies were presented to the top ten teams and medals were given to the students who received Outstanding Attorney and Outstanding Witness marks during the preliminary competitions.  Regis 7

The teams which finished in the top 10, excluding semi finalists Regis and three Johnston teams were: Indian Hills Junior High from West Des Moines, fifth; JFK Catholic Middle School, Davenport, sixth; Decorah Middle School, seventh; Urbandale Middle School, eighth; Harlan Middle School, ninth; and Assumption Catholic School, Granger, tenth.

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graders, Jeff Daubitz and Lizzie Leu, were both recognized as outstanding witnesses along with Hannah Petersen from Harding Middle School. Jacqueline Fashimpaur from Franklin Middle School was recognized as an outstanding attorney.