The team from Glenwood Springs High School placed third in the National High School Mock Trial Championship last week in Phoenix — and captured some individual honors as well.
It was the fifth time in 10 years that a team from Glenwood made the national competition. It advanced by defeating last year’s state champion team from Lakewood High School.
Schools compete by trying a case they have studied for about a month. But they don’t know which roles they’ll represent until the trial begins.
This year, the case revolved around a dispute between a Native American tribe and a uranium mining company in northern Arizona that addressed issues of environmental impact and public health.
Alex Pototsky won the Best Witness award and teammate Christian Bergren-Aragon won for Best Attorney.
Other members of the team were Erica Arensman, Isaac Carlson, Isabel Carlson, Joseph Ciborowski, Grace Gamba, Eileen Klomhaus and Hope Whitman.
They were led by teacher-coach Bryan Gonzalas, attorney head coach Charlie Willman and assistant attorney coaches Vic Zerbi and Wes Burke.
The competition included 48 teams from 43 states plus representatives from Guam, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, South Korea and Australia.
