After finishing their season undefeated, the FHS Varsity Mock Trial team is advancing to the state tournament. Only 32 teams from across the state have qualified to attend, and for the ninth year in a row, FHS is one of them. The event will take place at Clark University on Sunday, March 3 at 9 a.m. Unfortunately, no spectators are allowed, as the rooms where the trials take place are very small.

According to Mr. Perkins, one of the Mock Trial coaches, a team must have the best record in their region in order to go to the tournament round. Each team has only three preliminary trials in their season, so this almost always requires going 3 for 3. If a team should lose one of these trials, their season ends after the trio.

For FHS, it was a very nerve-wracking group of preliminary trials. They first faced Attleboro High School before squaring off against Foxboro Charter. The team won these first two matches in very close calls.

The third trial was against Bellingham High School. This resulted in a tie, but since there must be one winner in Mock Trial, a tie-breaker point was awarded to the team with the best overall performance. FHS emerged victorious.

Mock Trial members are very busy preparing for the tournament. They are putting in lots of individual time to reflect on past performances, as well as working in small groups to share ideas and prepare a team message.

The team won’t know until they arrive at Clark University whether they will be performing in the role of the prosecution or the defense. It will all come down to a coin-flip, Mr. Perkins said. Whatever they are arguing, one thing is for certain: they will make FHS proud.

———————————-

UPDATE:

FHS won both of their trials at Clark University last Sunday. This puts them in the final eight teams out of the state’s 132 vying for the championship. The Elite Eight and Final Four competitions are being held on Wednesday, March 13 at the Moakley Courthouse in Boston.