After concluding a historic regular season in March, two Menlo Mock Trial members participated in the annual Individual National Championship—called the “Gladiator” tournament—in July in Irvine, CA. Tiffany Tam ’18 and Luke Arnold (with Madeline Levin as understudy) were chosen by Menlo coaches Thom Scher and Carrie Adkins to faceoff against some of the best mock trial competitors in the world.

Tiffany took home the top prize as the Individual Champion. Not only is she the first student to win from the prosecution side, she had the highest total attorney-scores in preliminary rounds, ever. She continued Menlo’s dominant streak at the national championships, joining Andy Parker ’16 who won the tournament in 2016 and made the final round in 2015.

When asked about the experience, she shared, “I learned so much from my competitors. I was able to pick up technical arguments they used and apply them to my own case theory. The great thing about competing against 47 of the most talented individuals from around the world is that I was exposed to many different presentation styles. This allowed me to be more aware of what fit my own style and what did not.”

Luke Arnold ’19 also earned an Honorable Mention award with a crucial 4th round win as an attorney. In a reflection on this experience, Luke expressed his passion for Mock Trial. “I just love Mock Trial,” he says. “It was really exciting to be challenged in a new way, where I couldn’t rely on my co-counsel if I got lost halfway through an exam. That level of difficulty and the rest of the nuance that the individuality of the tournament created made the experience extremely rewarding.”

In other Mock Trial news, the team will experience a change in leadership this year as Thom Scher, who has coached the team for the last 10 years, is leaving his position. After concluding this year and helping with the transition, he will be moving on to Stanford University’s Mock Trial team.

Tiffany says she is especially grateful for the years he spent with Menlo. “I would also like to give a huge thank you to my coach, Thom Scher, for his unwavering support and to all my teammates, past and present, for teaching me so much.”

His legacy will live on with Menlo Mock Trial, a team that is currently undefeated for 8 straight years in San Mateo County, with 80 consecutive wins and 0 losses. Menlo has reached the State Podium in 6 of the last 7 years, and are defending NorCal, Providence, and former American Champions, with the most titles of any team.