Upon winning the State Championship and participating in the National High School Mock Trial Competition last school year, the PDS Mock Trial team was back in full swing, beginning their journey in the Mercer County competition on Saturday, January 27.
The first competition was held at the Mercer County Civil Courthouse in Trenton, where PDS’s Defense team, led by seniors Maya Sethuraman and Adya Jha, and consisting of junior Lindsay Newman, sophomore Riya Mani, and junior Addison Figel, faced Nottingham. The defense’s argument prevailed, and the team attained their first victory of the season. The Prosecution team, led by senior Farhan Haque and junior Aulani Daniel, and consisting of sophomores Harrison Bagga, Arjun Bhardwaj, and Rhea Ajmera, secured PDS’s second victory after battling the Lawrenceville School, as well as a seat in the semi-finals. In the afternoon, the Defense team encountered Stuart and secured a third victory and the team’s seat to the Mercer County finals.
On Wednesday, January 31, the team faced the Lawrenceville School and won the Mercer County Champion title for the second year in a row. Following this exciting victory, the PDS Mock Trial team competed in the regional competition at the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick on Thursday, February 29. That morning, the Defense prevailed over Lenape High School, moving the team on to the afternoon. On the other side, the Prosecution fought in a close battle with Kent Place School but were eventually defeated.
Looking back on the season and PDS Mock Trial career, Senior Attorney Sethuramen shared, “I’m so grateful that I had the experience of being on the team for the past three years! None of our team’s success would have been possible without our attorney coaches […] I’ve learned so much from them and from the rest of the team.”
Bagga also shared positive thoughts: “Our team competed well, even though the outcome was disappointing,” he said. “Our team chemistry meshed perfectly, with a balance of experienced underclassmen, and much new talent. With five dedicated alternates, and top Attorney Coaches in their field, the team functioned superbly. We won Counties […] That was great! We made it to the regionals. Although we lost, we can confidently say that we are building a team which possesses potential—the potential to make PDS history, and go farther than we have before!”
This year, the PDS Mock Trial accomplished a lot, and the future is looking bright!
