Wooster's Moot Court Team Makes Another Impressive Showing at Regional Tournaments

11 students qualify for nationals, four others under consideration

WOOSTER, Ohio - The College of Wooster's Moot Court team continued its run of impressive performances in regional competition with strong showings at tournaments in Florida, Minnesota, and Wooster last month. Five of Wooster's 18 two-person teams qualified for the national tournament and two other teams are under consideration. In addition, 11 of Wooster's 36 participants earned top orator honors.

The Wooster tournament, which was sponsored by the Wayne County Bar Association, included teams from Aquinas, Denison, Eastern Illinois, Marietta, Millikin, Ohio Wesleyan, Louisville, and Youngstown State. Wooster seniors Claire Burgess and Shane Legg led the way by capturing the regional championship and gaining a top seed at the national tournament. The two further distinguished themselves by finishing third and fifth, respectively, on the list of top orators. In addition, first-year Rachel Shonebarger and sophomore Jacob Sklar qualified for nationals by making it to the quarterfinals, while the teams of Scott Merrifield and Janet Zahorsky, both sophomores, and John McKeegan and Megan Tope, both seniors, advanced to the round of 16. Merrifield finished sixth among the top orators as well. Also advancing to the round of 16 and qualifying for nationals was the hybrid team of Ramsey Kincannon, a sophomore from Wooster, and Geoff Byrne from Denison.

Other participants from Wooster at the local regional tournament were junior Audrey Hudak and sophomore Kathrin Reed; sophomores Joseph Skonce and Cori Kubat; first-years Roxie Deer and Yousef Aliakbar; first-years Chad Trownson and Amanda Collins; first-years Tadd Pinkston and Timothy Strawbridge; and sophomore Peter Swinton.

Wooster dominated the Upper Midwest Regional, hosted by Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn., where two teams advanced to nationals and five individuals finished among the top orators. Junior Willem Daniel and senior Thomas Loughead and junior Alan Van Runkle and senior Alexa Roggenkamp earned a trip to nationals by placing first and second, respectively. Senior Kevin Whalen and junior Michael Walton may also be invited to nationals after finishing fifth, while sophomore Leann Do and junior Andrew Dirgo just missed qualifying after placing sixth. Individually, Wooster's top orators were Daniel (first), Loughead (second), Roggenkamp (sixth), Walton (eighth), and Van Runkle (tenth).

At the Tampa Regional, sophomores John Carter and Cassandra Zavis, qualified for nationals by placing fifth, while juniors Mark Burgin and Natalie Noyes qualified for nationals by placing sixth. In addition, seniors Scott Smith and Sarah Palagyi are under consideration after placing eighth. Individually, Noyes was selected as the top orator; Burgin was second; and Palagyi was sixth. Also competing for Wooster in Tampa was the team of Amanda Armstrong, a junior, and Matthew Rubin, a sophomore.

The 2010 American Collegiate Moot Court Association National Tournament will be held Jan. 15-16 at Florida International University College of Law in Miami.