![At the bottom of the third inning, the Lions are still scoreless. Rowe stands at home plate, preparing to bat, while Vandenbrink stands off to the side as the next batter up. Despite having the bases loaded, the team was unable to score any runs. “It’s just the beginning of the season. We’re just going to be playing out best by June, [and] that’s where champions are,” Rowe said.](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_3077-1200x900.jpg)
![All smiles. The group poses for a photo with last year’s book, “This is Our House,” along with their award for third Best in Show. Meikle, who was an Editor-in-Chief for the yearbook last year as well, holds both and stands at the center of the group. “That was an amazing feeling, going and grabbing the third place award,” Meikle said. “All of it paid off. I cried so much over that book, being able to receive [the award] was one of the highlights of my high school career, it was like the coolest thing ever.”](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/8bookpose_philly-1200x800.jpg)
The Mock Trial team has begun preparations to compete in a worldwide competition in New York City starting Oct 23. The Mock Trial Team is one of the elite 32 teams that were asked to apply in hopes of attending the Empire Tournament, often dubbed “the tournament of world champions,” Matt Kellogg, Mock Trial adviser, said.
The team was invited to compete in the tournament, beating out 106 applicants for one of the spots. In order to even be asked to apply for the tournament, teams must place within the top five at their state’s Mock Trial competition. Last year, WLHS placed ninth in the world in this competition.
The team began preparing for the tournament in July, starting with a 24-hour marathon practice with the team staying in the school in order to develop an edge leading up to the competition by putting more work in.
