NORWICH – The Norwich High School Mock Trial Team squared off against veteran squad Gilbertsville-Mount Upton during the sectional finals, held Wednesday at the Chenango County Courthouse. G-MU won the final round of sectionals and will now move on to the regionals in Syracuse.

“My team worked incredibly hard and we made enormous progress from our first to last trial, as shown by the fact that we got into finals as a first year team,” said Norwich mock trail coach and DCMO BOCES English teacher Maureen Bartlett. “G-MU are extraordinary competitors and they brought out the very best in us. Presiding Judge Garry said it was close and that they only won by a slim margin.”

This was the Norwich team’s first time back in the ring after a 10-year hiatus following the previous mock trial advisor’s retirement. Going into the semifinals, the Norwich team was ranked third out of five other teams in the area including G-MU, Sherburne-Earlville, Afton and Unadilla Valley.

The New York Bar Foundation and the New York State Bar Association sponsor the mock trials in an effort to perk high school students’ interest in the law. Each competing team also benefits from the advise of a practicing lawyer, such as Assistant District Attorney Stephen M. Dunshee’s long time advisement of the S-E team and attorney James Fertig’s recent consultation with the Norwich team.

“It requires a lot of dedication from the students,” said Chenango County Assistant District Attorney and mock trial organizer Michael J. Genute. “It is a pretty unique thing, which attracts a wide variety of students who do it because it is a good experience.”