Mock Trial Team Wins Awards in Regional Tournament

Steward’s Upper School mock trial team recently competed among teams from 41 other Virginia high schools at the Northern Virginia regional tournament, winning accolades despite being new to the competition. A mock trial is a simulation of a real courtroom trial. Students take on the roles of attorneys, witnesses, and other courtroom personnel, preparing and presenting their cases before a judge and jury. 

Coached by retired attorney and business law college professor Daniel Herron (grandfather to Jack ’24, Nate ’28, Sam ’29, and Wes ’30), the Steward team is composed of Erik Avram ’29, Penn Arnold ’27, Noah Bender ’28, Kayla Galpern ’28, Nate Herron ’28, Turner Hurst ’26, Elijah Kauffman ’28, Shalini Masson ’29, Henry Pietrantoni ’28, Jackson Saunders ’29, and Emily Stefanick ’28.

“It often takes baby steps to develop a strong program,” said Mr. Herron. “Our team competed for the first time in 2025 in the regional competition and, despite desire and motivation, came away without winning a single ballot. This year was different.” To prepare for the February 14 event, the team put in hours of practice on campus and scrimmaged against Deep Run High School in January. 

At the regional tournament, Spartans rallied for two wins and came within a hair’s breadth of qualifying for the state championship tournament. The team was hit with adversity on the morning of the tournament when they learned that the plaintiff's attorney, Nate, was not feeling well. Scrambling to fill the void, Henry stepped into the breach and valiantly learned Nate’s roles. 

The case was a fictional case in which a fired university professor (played by Jackson) sued the editor-in-chief of the student newspaper (played by Penn) for defamation for an article implicating the professor in the death of a student.

“Unfortunately, the team drew the plaintiff’s side in the first round,” explained Mr. Herron. “They played the eventual undefeated regional champions and, despite their best efforts, dropped both ballots. In the second round, playing defense, the Spartans roared back by winning both ballots by 17 and 23 points, a landslide in mock trial scoring. This set up the third round. Playing another 2-2 team, Steward could have secured a bid to the state championships with a double win. The Spartans went down swinging, losing by single digits.”

Henry and Noah were named Outstanding Attorneys, while Penn, Jackson, and Emily each won Outstanding Witness awards. Of the 42 teams, Steward finished 27th, with the strongest opposition in the entire tournament.

“Mock trial teaches students critical and analytical thinking skills, oral and written communication, and teamwork — skills that complement what Spartans learn inside and outside the classroom,” said Mr. Herron proudly.