Creighton Prep took state and is headed back to nationals … in the sport of law.

Prep Blue, Prep’s varsity Mock Trial team, beat out perennial superpowers Duchesne Academy and Skutt Catholic High School to win the state championship, granting them a bid to the national competition in May.

Mock Trial is the intellectual sport in which lawyers and witnesses from the same school perform a fake trial, examination, and prosecution.

“At the start of the school year we get a fake court case and we basically try the case against other schools,” junior Jaliya Nagahawatte said. “You have the plaintiff and the defense, and you have to be able to go on either side at any moment. Like a real case, you have openings, closings, direct examinations, and cross examinations.”

The team that best plays their roles and reenacts the case, wins. It is more than just law knowledge, but also speech and acting expertise.

“It’s a mixture of law knowledge, trial knowledge, and a little bit of acting and a little bit of speech all mixed into it,” Mock Trial head coach James Justice said.

Prep Blue consists of Nolan Drain, Graham Laughlin, Jaliya Nagahawatte, Peter Owens, Dominic Mendlik, Isaiah Mueller, and Patrick Gillaspie. Of Prep Blue’s six members, three are team veterans. The other three were quick to jump to championship level and work as a team to achieve greatness.

“I’d definitely say that all of us were crucial [to the team’s success] as Mock Trial is truly a team effort, but I believe that the veterans, Jaliya, Graham, and Nolan, really helped out with boosting our confidence and getting points for the team,” junior Patrick Gillaspie said.

The state of Nebraska is a playing field of tough competition. Duchesne has both a national championship and a national runner up under their belt. Skutt is consistently a competitor for state championship. The Junior Jays fought their way into being the final component of the “big three” with the help of two attorney coaches that previously coached at Duchesne, in addition to the first year Prep teacher Mr. Justice, who jumped into the Mock Trial program at the perfect time. Prep’s recent success is not only the result of their top-notch coaching, but also because of their high octane teammates.

“I credit [the recent success] to both the national championship-level coaches and the talent for public speaking that each member exhibits,” freshman Dominic Mendlik said.

For the state competition, Nebraska is divided into many regions. The top two teams from each region go to the state tournament. As Prep, Duchesne, and Skutt are all in the same region, one top-tier team is left out every year. Their region, being the largest in the state, is always the most competitive. Prep Blue made the cut this year, but another school was not so lucky. Duchesne, a perennial national championship contender, was knocked out of state tournament entry this year.

At state, the Junior Jays outlasted the Skutt Skyhawks and came out victorious, winning the state championship and becoming the only Mock Trial team to represent Nebraska in Reno.

“We placed 2nd in our district of Douglas County, the largest region in Nebraska with 25 teams, and 1st in the state of Nebraska,” Gillaspie said.

Despite having a long road ahead before nationals, Prep Blue is grateful for their success thus far in the season. Victory is more than a number on a scoresheet to these teammates.

“Defending our state championship and winning this year has really boosted confidence and provided a hopeful and stronger legacy for Creighton Prep’s Mock Trial program,” Gillaspie said.

The next step for Prep is nationals, taking place in the second week of May in Reno, NV. Their preparation starts months before the competition, a luxury that teams from states that have their state tournaments in April do not have. Despite their vast skills and experiences, Prep Blue expects to face the toughest competition of the year at nationals. At the very least, the team hopes to better themselves as teammates and strive for the magis, the Jesuit motto for improvement.

“This team has national championship potential, so we’ll see. There’s a lot of good teams at nationals. It’s not a cake walk at all. We’re hoping to be top 10 in the nation. We’re just trying to better than we did last year and improve,” Nagahawatte said.