Niles West’s very own Mock Trial team will be traveling to Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut for a competition this Friday, Sept. 30.

The top eight to ten high school Mock Trial teams from around the nation will be competing against each other in a national competition. Rather than having their normal two to three months to prepare for their case, the team has been forced work extra hard prepare for this case in only one month.

“We have had to learn different rules and this case is longer, so it’s more extensive. I guess it makes us work a little bit harder. They figure since we’re some of the best teams in the country, we should be able to figure this out quickly. It’s definitely time crunch compared to the state case which is the hardest part about this,” coach Jason Stanford said.

Many of the participants, including senior and captain Asma Akram, are excited to finally be able to compete at a national level.

“We went to Harvard last year and we got to see seminars and stuff, but this year we get to compete against some of the best teams in the nation and it’s pretty amazing. It’s also another way for us to better our skills for the state competition,” Akram said. “Since it is Yale, they’re going to have better criticism for us, especially because they are the top in the nation for their mock trial team.”

Senior Labiba Mahmud is one of the four new members who will be going to this competition.

“Usually the varsity members who have been there [on the team] awhile get to go, but a lot of them graduated last year. They picked me because  I’ve proven to them that I’m capable and committed. I’m really excited and really nervous because I’ve never done this before,” Mahmud said.

The Mock Trial team will be departing school for the airport after fourth period on Friday, Sept. 30 and will return on Monday, Oct. 1. Good luck to Akram, Mahmud, seniors Janki Patel, Michelle Murashev, Sidra Kallan, Nick Ieremciuc, and sophomore Taral Talati!