Kent Denver—A Championship-Caliber Mock Trial Team, 0815 COBJ, 2015, August, Pg. 20
| Author | Timothy M. Rastello, J. |
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Kent Denver—A Championship-Caliber Mock Trial Team
Timothy M. Rastello, J.
About the Author
Timothy M. Rastello is a trial lawyer from Boulder. He practiced as a partner/associate with Holland & Hart for thirty-three years and served as a coach for Kent Denver's mock trial team during the past four years-trastello@tmrlawl.com.
Resilient. Perhaps no other word more aptly describes the members of Kent Denver's High School Mock Trial A-Team. Comprising seven high school seniors and two juniors, Kent's A-Team members collectively have amassed twenty-six years of experience in the CBA's highly regarded Mock Trial Program.
During the past four years, Kent's A-Team has won three Arapahoe County regional tournaments, and finished second this year—losing by one point to their understudies on Kent's B-Team. During the 2012, 2013, and 2014 state tournaments, Kent's A-Team finished fifth, sixth, and fourth, respectively. The 2014 fourth-place finish was especially disappointing because the A-Team earned the presiding judge's award as the Best Performing Team in the state tournament, but missed advancing to the 2014 state championship finals. The "Group of Nine" A-Team was therefore determined to win the state championship in 2015. The student members steadfastly practiced from the first day the CBA case plan was issued last November.
Exemplary Work Ethic Toward an Extracurricular Activity
Kent's Mock Trial Program is an extracurricular activity; no course or Colorado High School Activities Association credit is provided for participation. It is a completely volunteer activity that is supported by the desire and commitment of the students and volunteer coaches (many of whom are CBA members), as well as by many teachers and parents.
The Group of Nine formally met and practiced every Sunday and Wednesday evening from November until the state tournament in late March. Informally, the team frequently met to practice and scrimmage in the early morning hours before classes and during the weekends. They collectively invested more than 1,000 hours preparing for the state tournament.
The Group of Nine had three co-captains: Victoria Clark, John Marlin, and Reilly Rastello. They provided leadership, but the entire team nudged and...
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