Mock Trial Team Enjoys Final Four Finish

(HARRISBURG, PA) The most successful season in LP's Mock Trial team history ended in Harrisburg with a Final Four finish, and lots of optimism about the future.

Lincoln Park's team Region 2 championship mock trial team was among 14 Regional Finalists to advance to the 2025 Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition on March 28-29 at the Dauphin County Courthouse in Harrisburg, PA.

The LP team was one of 264 teams that competed statewide, making this Mock Trial competition one of the largest in the nation.

For senior Keenan Kerr of Monaca, a single phrase captured the team's journey this year: "The comeback was stronger than the setback."

"After years of being stuck in the Beaver County bracket, we knew something had to change. We started by analyzing the scoring matrix, creating all of our documents before Christmas, and then revising them after every trial," Kerr said. "We also took time to study the Rules of Competition thoroughly as we prepared for states.

"All of that hard work paid off," added Kerr. "We went from never even being county champions to making it all the way to the state semifinals."

LP's team won both of their initial trials at the state competition, and advanced to the semifinal round, consisting of the top four teams in the state. Unfortunately, the team lost that trial in an extremely close 6-5 match.

The score in that round was actually first tied. However, according to the Mock Trial Rule of Competition, when an even number of jurors vote, one of the jurors' score sheets must be designated not to count prior to the conclusion of the trial.  The disallowed ballot was in LP's favor, leading to the 6-5 semifinal result.

Close loss aside, Mock Trial adviser Mia Frank, a Pennsylvania licensed attorney who lead's LP's Pre-Law and the Arts Department, felt that the season was "an incredible learning opportunity for both me and my team. Competing at such a high level truly elevated our performance."

And Frank is already planning for next year, when she hopes to build on this season's success.

"With nine underclassmen on the team this season, we're excited to see them step into greater responsibilities and leadership roles moving forward," Frank said.

"While we'll be saying goodbye to some talented seniors," she added, "our spirits are high and we're already looking ahead to next year with confidence."

Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School is a tuition-free public charter school located in Midland, PA, and open to all Pennsylvania families. Students grades 7-12 are bused from more than 90 different school districts to study the arts concentration of their choice: theatre, writing and publishing, media arts, health science and the arts, music, dance, and pre-law and the arts.

For more information, visit lppacs.org or contact: admissions@lppacs.org