USF Mock Trial team heads to nationals, again

The University of St. Francis Mock Trial team, for the second consecutive year, will compete at the national level.

Pictured from left to right: Amanda Polowniak, Daniel Leddy (with his outstanding witness award), Nick Heberer (in rear), Maurisio Martinez (in front), Thaddeus Henderson (with his outstanding witness award), John Rickmon, Lauren Emanuelson (with her outstanding attorney award), Daniella Almazan (in rear) and Richard Maggio.

This is the third time in four years that the USF team will compete against the best mock trial teams in the nation, according to team coach Marty Shanahan, a USF alumus and attorney at the law firm of Spesia, Ayers and Ardaugh. The competition will be March 16-18 at Northwestern University.

Students participating in mock trial play the role of attorneys and witnesses; panels of two or three local attorneys and judge’s score the students.

Twenty teams competed at the recent Joliet Regional Competition, including the University of St. Francis,  University of Illinois at Chicago, Illinois State University and Loyola University.  USF finished in eighth place to secure a spot at nationals. 

Three students on the team also won individual awards:  Lauren Emanuelson, a junior nursing major from Ottawa, won an “Outstanding Attorney” award; Thaddeus Henderson, a freshman political science major from Chicago, won an “Outstanding Witness” award,;and Daniel Leddy, a sophomore biology and psychology major from Park Ridge also won an “Outstanding Witness” award.

“I’ve never seen a team fight back from no wins and one tie after two rounds and still qualify for nationals.  It revealed the true grit of the USF students, who did not give up,” said Shanahan.

Other members of the team that contributed to the comeback include, Amanda Palowniak of Chicago, Rich Maggio of Orland Park, John Rickmon of Plainfield, Daniella Almazan of Joliet, Nick Heberer of Washington, IL, and Maurisio Martinez of Joliet.