According to adviser Zachary Heck, success in trial law requires you to be able to read the room correctly. He teaches the students to read the judge and adapt on the fly. During Centerville’s second round trial at state against Lake Ridge Academy, that lesson came to fruition when Sery Gunawardena recognized dubious testimony.
“Sery demonstrated that ability during opposing counsel’s cross examination of a witness played by Lola. Sery turned the tide of the trial by making creative objections and getting five sustained in a row based on the judge’s prior rulings,” said Heck. “Sery successfully excluded damaging testimony, effectively defended her witness, and helped Centerville win that trial and earn herself a Best Attorney award.”
Beginning this past January, 347 teams competed in the High School Mock Trial Tournament, and 36 teams qualified for the State Tournament on March 8-10 at Ohio State University. There were 3,500 participants across the state. Centerville fielded two teams: Centerville Black and Centerville Gold.
Centerville Black was one of 8 teams to qualify for the quarter-finals, becoming an elite group of the top 2 percent in the state. They were defeated by the eventual champions, a team from Sylvania High School. Since January, Centerville Mock Trial Teams have defeated Chaminade Julienne, Alter, Celina, Northmont, Eastern High School, Western Brown High School, Fayettesville, Madeira, Sylvania and Lake Ridge Academy.
In addition to Gunawardena, Centerville Black is comprised of senior Michael Ferris, juniors Habiba Mbugua and Lola Clemente-Rosa, and sophomore Anjali Raju.
The Centerville Gold Team was a state qualifier, making the top 36 teams out of 347. Gold Team members are juniors Devin Nigarura, Wajih Choudhury, and Lilly Levasseur; and sophomores Yazmin Soulati and Ben Campbell. Soulati and Mbugua earned Best Witness awards. In addition to Gunawardena, Michael Ferris earned a Best Attorney award.
“The most exciting part of the cross was definitely seeing all the work the two of us, my witness, Lola, and I, put in coming through in that trial,” said Gunawardena. “That trial was scary at first because we were up against the strongest opponents we had ever had. It was aggressive and very fast-paced. I think we were able to win because of all the work we put in beforehand, and the trust we put in each other as teammates.”
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