On May 16-18, 2019, York’s Mock Trial Team, the Illinois State Champions, competed at the national championship in Athens, Georgia where the team took thirteenth. York joined 46 other teams at the tournament representing 43 US states, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and South Korea.

“When we landed Sunday morning I turned the airplane mode off on my phone and pulled up Instagram, expecting nothing.” junior Maya Iyer, team co-captain, said. “The first post on my feed was from National High School Mock Trial Competition, saying the full rankings were up. It was only the top 15, so I didn’t think Illinois would be on there, but we were. We were all freaking out on the plane, causing a scene. Mrs. Mueller was almost screaming. I just couldn’t believe it.”

Unlike many York teams who will have to build up the next class of seniors, Mock Trial was blessed with a young roster this year. Only two of the varsity members graduated with the class of 2019.

“I felt like I just learned so much from the older people on the team,” freshman Elinor Kness, a team member, said. “I think that will really help us when they’re gone and we get to continue on.”

The victory follows a season that been historically significant for the team being the first year York has won a state championship in Mock Trial.  Junior and co captain Lexiene Lukose has watched the momentum and skill of her team grow “exponentially” over the 2018-2019 season, making the team energized for next year where they “are excited to do even better”.

“We’re going to keep doing the same thing we’ve been doing: working hard, and spending time with each other,” Iyer said. “Our coaches always call us scrappy, so I hope we can continue the underdog fight, but as a well-respected competitor.”