The Luverne mock trial team competes today (Thursday, Feb. 17) for a possible return to the state tournament for the eighth-consecutive year.
The Cardinals are one of six high school teams competing in the final Round 5 that includes St. Peter Rochester Century, Owatonna, Northfield and Cotter. The three winning teams from today’s competition move on to the virtual state tournament on March 3-4.
Coach Jason Berghorst said this year’s schedule is more competitive than in previous years due to the virtual format.
Luverne is in a pool of 18 other high schools across the state.
“Being in a super-regional this year — second year of this — has allowed us to face teams with similar records, which has led to more competitive trials in Rounds 3 and 4,” he said. “We’ve been able to compete against larger schools that are farther away that we would probably not face during the regular season if we were traveling to compete in person.”
Luverne enters today’s final Round 5 with a perfect 4-0 record.
They will take on Cotter High School of Winona, who enters the regional final with a 3-1 record.
“If we defeat Cotter, we’ll compete at state. If we lose to Cotter, our season will end,” Berghorst said.
Luverne has competed in the state tournament every year since 2014.
The Luverne team will be the prosecutors for today’s event, while Winona will defend.
Luverne’s prosecution is coming off a Round 4 win on Feb. 8 and will compete for the second time in a row. Winona’s defense will compete for the fourth time in a row.
The unbalanced schedule is something that the Minnesota Bar Association, who operates the mock trial program, seeks to fix in the future.
“This is kind of a quirk in the mock trial rules,” Berghorst said. “Organizers have assured coaches that they will try to fix the problem so it doesn’t happen as often next year.”
Luverne’s schedule has been balanced, with their prosecution and defense teams winning two rounds each.
Comprising this year’s prosecution team for Luverne are Roselynn Hartshorn, Cassi Chesley and Chance Tunnissen as the attorneys. Hartshorn conducts the opening statement for the team with Tunnissen providing the closing argument. Prosecution witnesses are Xavier Carbonneau, Jadyn Hart and Parker Carbonneau.
The defense team consists of attorneys Griffen Jarchow, Brynn Boyenga and Ross Bergman. Bergman completes the opening statement with Jarchow providing the closing argument. Defense witnesses are Luke Thorson, Adam Ask and Ella Lanoue.
Alternate attorneys are Zander Carbonneau and Eli McLendon. Alternate witnesses are Keaton Ahrendt and Leif Ingebretsen.
The prosecution team won Luverne’s first competition on Jan. 12 against Northfield with a score of 219 to 203. They won Round 4 on Feb. 8 against Springfield, 195 to 189.
The defense team took the top score in Round 2 on Jan. 21 with a score of 221 to 207. They also won Round 3 on Feb. 1 against St. Peter, 202 to 183.
This year’s case focuses on crowdfunding in a “theft by swindle” case — state of Minnesota versus Taylor Blair.
Defendant Taylor Blair is the founder of Minnesota Nice Pet Rescue and raised funds through UFundUs, a fictional crowdfunding site. Blair is accused of making elaborate purchases from funds raised through the site set up to care for abused or neglected dogs. Blair contends the new truck and swimming pool are used in the dogs’ care. The state prosecutors accuse Blair of swindling funds from the public for his own use.
Luverne students have competed this year virtually from their individual homes.
“This allows for fewer distractions than what teams who compete at their schools face,” Berghorst said. “Bells, announcements and feedback —within the Zoom session when multiple mics are on in the same room —are just some of the challenges that other teams who compete from school have faced this year.”
With no travel, the students have a different post-round debriefing.
“We host a team-only Zoom right after each trial where the kids kind of debrief and go over the trial, similar to what they would normally do on the bus ride home previous seasons,” Berghorst said.