Macalester Mock Trial is celebrating a level of success the program hasn’t seen in more than a decade.
In April, Ainsley Meyer ’26, Kate Caulder ’27, and Jo-Z Wu ’28 earned All-American honors at the American Mock Trial Association’s 41st National Championship Tournament in Washington, DC.
“This year’s triumphant success will bolster the program’s recruitment, legacy, and competitive drive for years to come,” says Director of Forensics Beau Larsen. “Out of over seven hundred mock trial teams that compete at regionals every year, only fifty teams advance to the national competition. And Macalester didn’t just qualify one team to nationals, we qualified two—one out of only seven schools in the country to do so.”
In collegiate mock trial, students switch off each year between criminal and civil cases. This year’s national case was about an armed robbery at a diner and gave students the opportunity to offer a plea deal to one of the suspects in question.
One of Macalester’s teams—comprising Paramitha Pratha ’29, Wu, Kofi Anyimadu ’28, Betsy Thede ’29, Josie Mitchell ’29, Caulder, Sabri Abdusalam ’28, Tani Gangal ’29, and Violet Stepen ’28— received an honorable mention at the end of the tournament.
“All season, Mac students rallied around the goal of sending two teams to nationals,” says Larsen. “My students’ belief in themselves, their dedication to the game, and their mutual commitment to each other is what made this possible. In particular, I want to recognize our three senior student leaders—Maita Mungah, David Truman, and Ainsley Meyer—whose behind-the-scenes leadership in many ways enabled this year’s program-wide success.”
As the trio of All-Americans celebrates their collective success, they are also taking time to reflect.
How does it feel to end your season in this way?
“It feels very rewarding,” says Meyer. “As a senior, I couldn’t have picked a better way to end my Mock Trial career. I feel like all of the work that I have been putting in for years has paid off, and I am so happy to end this season with people that I love competing alongside me.”
What makes Macalester Mock Trial so noteworthy on the competitive circuit?
“I think we have a good combination of legal reasoning and showmanship,” says Caulder. “Mac students tend to be very good at creating strong arguments. We also worked really hard this season at becoming more performative and flashy. It’s important to have both strong content and entertaining performances, and I think we struck that balance well.”
What level of dedication did this effort require?
“Like nothing I’ve ever experienced before,” says Wu. “In the month between the case release and nationals, we only skipped four days of practice, often logging over twenty-five hours a week. It was an intense, consuming commitment. A special shoutout to all of our coaches—especially Natalie Parisi and Brendan Hayner-Slattery—we wouldn’t have had this success without their support.”
How do you think you will look back on this accomplishment thirty years from now?
“I will remember the people the most,” says Meyer. “It has been such an honor to compete with other talented and driven people. I will remember how much those people uplifted and supported me. And I will never forget how lucky I was to share this experience with them. ”
How does the team culture at Macalester shape your experience?
“It was the difference maker,” says Wu. “Everyone was deeply committed, but just as importantly, genuinely supportive of one another. That combination created an environment where we pushed each other to improve while still making Mock Trial enjoyable. By the end of the season we were a tightly knit family.”
How successful do you think this program can be in the future?
“The sky is the limit,” says Caulder. “We made huge strides this year, having finished in the top 25 at the national tournament. I think that with this success, everyone knows now that we can be very competitive, so we’re going to keep pushing for these kinds of results and better. We want to be in the final round at Nationals.”