The Radford Mock Trial team: (Front row from left) Sarah Norman, Gracie Howard, Madison Drees, Abby Russell, Cora Burt, Ke’alohi Diehl and Riley Petroski. Back row: Ashton Elander, Adam Hamze, Russel Steele, Allyson Berry, team coach Don Martin, Sydney Howell-Wampler, Morgan Cassell, Talia Wilson and Mackenzie Toone.
Radford’s Mock Trial team just completed its most successful season ever.
The team competed in three invitational tournaments at Wake Forest University, Dickinson College and Davidson College, where team members Riley Petroski, Madison Drees, Cora Burt and Ke’alohi Diehl won Outstanding Attorney awards. Michael Lester, Sydney Howell-Wampler and Riley Petroski also won Outstanding Witness Awards.
The team trekked to Charlotte, North Carolina, in early February to compete in the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) regional tournament and returned to campus with some major awards.
Three team members – Adam Hamze, Talia Wilson and Sarah Norman – were selected for the competition’s Outstanding Witness Awards.
“I couldn’t have done it without my amazing teammates and our coach, Don Martin,” Hamze, a junior political science major from Stafford, Virginia, said of the honor. “It takes a lot of hard work to get to regionals and receive an award, so I was incredibly honored when they called my name.”
Receiving awards for Outstanding Attorney were Madison Drees and Gracie Howard.
“While the outstanding attorney award bears my name, I believe that it is a testament to the collective effort and dedication of our entire team,” said Howard, a senior political science major from Narrows, Virginia. “Each of my teammates played a role in this achievement, and I am incredibly proud to be a part of such a talented and supportive team.”
Radford’s team was selected for the Spirit of AMTA Award, which is given to the team that best exemplifies the ideals of honesty, civility and fair play. Radford’s competitive spirit also earned the team a spot in the opening round of the 2025 AMTA national championship, scheduled for March 14-16 in Greenville, South Carolina.
“Hearing that we had made it was an incredible experience I will never forget,” said Drees, a senior criminal justice major from Glenview, Illinois. “It proved to me that all the years of hard work we put in with nothing to show for it was worth it. I am so incredibly proud of our team and all the work put in to get to that moment.”
During these tournaments, the Radford Mock Trial team, which formed in 2021, competed against teams from the University of Virginia, Washington & Lee University, Wake Forest, Davidson, University of North Carolina and many others.
“We wanted to prove that Radford grit can overcome any challenge, and with our motto, ‘All Gas, No Brakes,’ we came back to regionals and made history,” Hamze said. “When they called our names to advance, I was overwhelmed with pride. I’m so proud of all the hard work my team has put in, and I can’t imagine a better, more deserving group of people to compete with.”
Chad Osborne for Radford University
