MISENHEIMER — For the first time since 2012, Gray Stone Day School’s mock trial team will compete in the state championships in Raleigh.

This year, Gray Stone sent two teams (Garnet and Gray) to the regional competition in Charlotte, and in the preliminary rounds, they emerged victorious against Ardrey Kell High School, Garinger High School, Hendersonville High School, and Charlotte Country Day.

“This is the first year I’ve coached two teams, and 13 of our 16 team members had never participated in mock trial, so there was a learning curve for nearly everyone,” explained third-year coach Sarah Richardson. “They all worked really hard to learn the case, the rules, and all of the legal information. These kids are really just a great bunch to work with.”

During each round, the jurors award the best witness and best attorney. For the first two rounds, the teams took seven of the possible eight awards – with best witness awards going to Lexi Edwards, Jessica Adcock, Rachel Moon and Maria Kanawati, and best attorney awards going to Maria Kanawati, Rachel Moon and Maira Haque.

“In addition to all of their hard work,” continued Richardson, “none of us would have made it this far without our attorney advisor, Marsha Goodenow. She has been vital in both our success and progress the past few years.”

Despite a strong showing from both teams, only the Gray Stone Garnet team advanced to the final round versus Mooresville High School, where they won by a unanimous 5-0 jury vote. Once again, Gray Stone garnered top accolades with Lexi Edwards and Maria Kanawati winning their second best witness and attorney awards for the day.

The Gray Stone Day School Garnet team will compete against the other seven regional winners in Raleigh on March 13.