More than 350 students and advisers attended the 2025 YMCA Mock Trial Competition Nov. 7-9 at the Embassy Suites Hotel & Conference Center and the Alabama Supreme Court building in downtown Montgomery. Youth Chief Justice Ansley Gilbert, a senior at Spain Park High School in Hoover, presided over the three-day competition and conference.
Thirty-eight teams made up of students from 14 different schools competed. The participating schools were: Auburn High School, Bayside Academy in Daphne, Booker T. Washington (BTW) Magnet High School in Montgomery, Cherokee County High School in Centre, Hoover High School, Indian Springs School, Loveless Academic Magnet Program (LAMP) High School in Montgomery, Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School, Mountain Brook High School, Providence Classical Christian School in Huntsville, Spain Park High School in Hoover, St. James School in Montgomery, The Montgomery Academy and Vestavia Hills High School.
Elijah Blair, a junior at Spain Park High School in Hoover, was elected the 2026 Youth Chief Justice and will preside over court proceedings at Youth Legislature and Mock Trial next year.
Major League
STATE CHAMPIONS
In the Major League competition, the Cleveland team from The Montgomery Academy took home the title of state champion.
The top team members are: Jackson Brown, Lulu Espy, Virginia Haugabook, Duncan McInnes, Evan Parker and Robert Ashworth
These students will represent Alabama at the 2026 National High School Mock Trial Championship (May 7-9, 2026, in Des Moines, Iowa). The competition generally includes 46 teams, including Guam, South Korea, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and State Champion teams from throughout the country.
RUNNERS UP
The second, third, and fourth place teams from the Major League competition receive a bid to the 2026 YMCA National Judicial Competition.
The Bass team from Vestavia Hills High School – Aadi Agrawal, Connor Moorhouse, Dev Patel, Julian Aldana, Divya Ramani and Kaylee Zhao – were state champion runners up.
The third place Major League team was the Britton team from Spain Park High School. The members of that team are Aaron Adelson, Adarsh Vadlakonda, Tyler Kaczorowski, Camilla Sink, Stella Wilson, Maggie Parker and Auston Parks.
Team Castanza from Hoover High School earned the fourth place slot. Members include: Aayush Nayak, Kylie Crosby, Jessica Bachrach, Karrington Davis, Winnie Davis, Hannah Lee, Allie Owen and Brianna Delossantos.
Premier League
(Students in their first year of competition)
STATE CHAMPIONS
The Quisenberry team from Daphne’s Bayside Academy earned the state champion title for the 2025 Alabama YMCA Youth in Government Mock Trial Premier League competition. These students – Drew Williams, Annabel Kimbrell, Elizabeth Handwerger, Frank Smith, Bennett Lieb, Grace Counselman, Hayden Coumanis, Arya Amin, and Evelynn Stokes – won a bid to the YMCA National Judicial Competition.
RUNNERS UP
Earning runner up honors for the Premier League at the 2025 Alabama YMCA Youth in Government Mock Trial competition was the Campbell team from Hoover High School. The Campbell team includes London Hamilton, Coco Parker, Liam Brady, Madelynn Downey, Luke Hertz, Jaxon Ford, Demetrick Bledsoe, Olivia Lawson, Rosalyn Lawson. Team Campbell has also received a bid to the YMCA National Judicial Competition.
Hugh Maddox Award
The McNelley team from Auburn High School won the Hugh Maddox Award at the 2025 YMCA Alabama Youth in Government Mock Trial competition. The award is given to the most outstanding team for performance inside the courtroom as well as their character and statesmanship outside the courtroom. Alabama Supreme Court Justice Hugh Maddox held high the core values of the YMCA throughout his 30-year tenure on Alabama’s highest court. “Those values – respect, responsibility, caring and honesty – are paramount to our program as a whole. The team receiving this award continually demonstrated those values throughout the competition, along with performing exceptionally well,” said A.J. Hernandez, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Montgomery, when presenting the award.
The McNelley team – William Ellard, Ethan Yost, Luke McLendon, Miller Wilson, Drew Stanley, Chloe Ansley and Bryce Jordan – won a bid to the YMCA National Judicial Competition.
Outstanding Judges
Five youth judges were deemed outstanding during this year’s competition. In no particular order, the top jurists are Justices Haley Hust of St. James High School in Montgomery, Jayden Barnes of Montgomery’s BTW, Bettie Kerr of Indian Springs High School, Elijah Blair of Spain Park High School in Hoover and Hayun Park of LAMP in Montgomery.
Outstanding Attorneys
The outstanding attorneys recognized during the 2025 YMCA Alabama Youth in Government Mock Trial competition (in no particular order) are: Heesee Cho, Saint James School, Montgomery, Yohn team; Ann Evelyn Shirley, Providence Classical Christian School, Huntsville, Strickland team; Lulu Espy, The Montgomery Academy, Cleveland team; Bailey Braxton, BTW Magnet High School, Montgomery, Treece team; Michelle Tate, Indian Springs School, Singh team; Hampton Doobrow, Mountain Brook High School, Bloom team; Kylie Crosby, Hoover High School – Alabama, Castanza team; Maggie Parker, Spain Park High School, Hoover, Britton team; Campbell Webb, Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School, Dubois team; Libby Soong, Vestavia Hills High School, Hubbard team; Kara Hughes, Spain Park High School, Hoover, Schaffer team; and Eric Lin, LAMP High School, Montgomery, Rastogi team.
Outstanding Witnesses
Those recognized as outstanding witnesses for the 2025 YMCA Alabama Youth in Government Mock Trial competition, in no particular order, are Mwashua Nkuchwayo, LAMP High School, Montgomery, Miller team; John Stephen Klimjack, Bayside Academy, Daphne, Hantouche team; Karter Long, Spain Park High School, Hoover, McConnell team; Kaitlyn Mertel, Cherokee County High School, Centre, Keith team; Merrin Blackburn, Spain Park High School, Hoover, Schillaci team; Kaylee Zhao, Vestavia Hills High School, Bass team; Tara Samant, The Montgomery Academy, White team; Jaden Padgett, Providence Classical Christian School, Huntsville, Strickland team; James Puckett, Mountain Brook High School, Shirley team; Luke Hertz, Hoover High School – Alabama, Campbell team; Stella Wilson, Spain Park High School, Hoover, Britton team; and Grayson Whitman, Indian Springs School, Singh team.