Gavels. Witnesses. Jury. It is no secret the Seattle Prep’s mock trial team has been and is one of the best teams in the nation, however all good things must come to an end. After months of hard work and research in preparation for their final case in Olympia, the Seattle Prep Mock Trial team wrapped up their 2018-2019 season in the last week of March as they placed second in State against Franklin High School.

Seniors Abigail Potts and Amber Richards have begun to say their final goodbyes to their mock trial “family.” From trials covering robberies to the concerns with self-driving cars, the seniors have seen them all. However, their time has come to pass on the torch to the underclassmen in order to keep the mock trial traditions alive.

Potts, who began her mock trial journey in 8^th grade, has loved every minute of her experience on Prep’s team and is sad that this was her final year. Potts has enjoyed being able to create stories become different characters, and she recognizes the many skills she has gained from for mock trial: “Throughout my four years, I have seen the importance of having confidence when speaking publicly, even though I had to remind myself, ‘fake it till you make it,’” said Potts.

Although mock trial entails countless hours of hard work, Potts believes that there is no greater feeling of accomplishment than that after successfully winning a difficult trial. Potts also added that one of her favorite parts of being on the team is that it gives her “a chance to be aggressive and people can’t get mad at you for it.”

Richards not only chose to join the mock trial team during her junior year because of her lack of interest in sports, but to also get over her fear of public speaking. With the image of Richards fainting at the microphone while trying to make an amendment at UN, she set a goal to excel on the team, and she has done just that. Spending nearly the whole year preparing for the district and state trials, Richards, as well as her teammates, can say this is no easy task: “We are put through tremendous amounts of stress and are faced with countless obstacles, but in the end, it is all worth it,” stated Richards.

It seems that the seniors have reached the end of the road for their high school mock trial careers, however they have learned the art of mock trial and will be able to take many of their acquired skills into college and beyond.