Ohio State Law Wins Big at Gold Cup Mock Trial Competition

The Ohio State Law trial team recently won the 2024 Gold Cup Mock Trial Competition in Sacramento, California. Clay Owens ‘25, Sarah Paul '25, Jamie Salazar '25, and Julia Barragate '26 became national champions after facing teams from law schools across the country over the course of the four-day competition.  

In addition to winning the overall competition, the team won Best Written Motion for their Memorandum in Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Suppress filed prior to the competition. Owens won Best Advocate and tied for Best Cross Examination for the preliminary rounds, then won Top Advocate in the championship round. Paul also won Best Direct and tied with Owens and another competitor for Best Cross Examination in the preliminary rounds. 

The team is coached by Professor Beth Cooke ’94, Nate Ecker ’22, and Jess Akerman ’22. Additionally, Kendall Beard ’23 provided valuable support with the team’s strategy. Nick Paul '27 was an alternate for the team and also assisted in their preparations.