Northwood competitors continue individual success while testing their skills against strong collegiate competition.
Northwood University Mock Trial earned two individual awards at the Illini Mock Trial Invitational, held Oct. 17-18 at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, as a team combining veterans and newer competitors gained valuable experience against highly ranked collegiate opponents.
Competing as Team Navy, Northwood opened the tournament with a sweep of Miami University before falling to Indiana University, Ohio State University and Washington University in St. Louis.
Ubly’s Maze Gusa led Northwood’s individual performances, earning an Outstanding Attorney Award with a perfect score of 20 ranks. This continues an impressive streak for Gusa, who also earned an Outstanding Attorney Award at Purdue University’s Boilermaker Brawl Invitational earlier this month.
Gabriel Laske of Macomb earned an Outstanding Witness Award, and sophomore Isabella DeLong of Saginaw also delivered a strong performance as an attorney, falling just shy of the ranks needed to earn an award. Several first-year competitors earned individual ranks on judges’ ballots, including Graycen Miller and Logan Bellinger, both of Midland, and Kathleen Fenoll of Linden.
The tournament was an intentional opportunity to challenge Northwood’s developing competitors by pairing them with experienced teammates against some of the stronger programs on the team’s early-season schedule, explained Northwood Mock Trial Coach Jacob Walters.
“We knew going into this tournament that we were asking a young, split-stacked team to take on a very challenging schedule, and that was intentional,” Walters said. “Winning in October is not our first priority. Developing competitors who are prepared to win when the stakes are highest later in the season is. We talk a lot in our program about ‘climbing class,’ which is the process of growing through preparation, experience and increasingly difficult competition. As our Program Director Dr. Leapheart always says, ‘It’s not about where you start; it’s about where you finish.’”
The Illini Invitational followed Northwood’s successful season opener at Purdue, where Team Navy captured first place overall and the program brought home seven individual awards and the Spirit of the AMTA Award.
“Our freshmen and newer competitors got to see firsthand what high-level collegiate Mock Trial looks like, and they came away better because of it,” Walters said.
Walters credited Assistant Coaches Riley Hayer and Stephen Dunn and Program Director Dr. DeLois Leapheart for their contributions to the program.
“Developing competitors is a team effort,” Walters said. “Riley, Stephen and Dr. Leapheart invest an incredible amount of time and energy into our students and this program. Our students’ growth is a reflection of that commitment.”
Other Northwood students competing at the Illini Invitational included Johnathan Schwegler of Grand Blanc, Gabrielle Shelton of Bay City, Conrad Waldie of Frankenmuth and Sophia Whitten of Chatham, Illinois.
Northwood University Mock Trial competes throughout the academic year as part of the American Mock Trial Association. To learn more, visit the Northwood Mock Trial program webpage.
