Mediation Team Qualifies Again for Law School-Level Competition

Principia's mediation team traveled to Toronto, Canada, in early November to compete in the 20th International Intercollegiate Mediation Championship Tournament, facing off against such powerhouse institutions as the University of Texas, Boston University, College of the Holy Cross, and the University of Singapore, among others.

A good mix of hard-working veterans and novices, led by team captains Mackenzie Batten (C’20) and Hunter Hummell (US, 17, C’21), banded together to place among the top three positions in all four competition categories—something Principia had yet to achieve. In addition, the entire team made the cut to the semifinals—another first for Principia. Here are the results:

• Grace St. George (US’18, C’22): 2nd place, Top Mediator
• Hunter and Juliet Beck (US’18, C’22): 2nd place, Top Advocates/Clients
• Mackenzie, Juliet, and Hunter: 2nd place, Top Mediation Team
• Grace, Delaney Gatine (C’22) and Will Adler (C’20): 3rd place, Top Mediation Team and Top Advocacy Team
• Sarah Switzer (US’16, C’20): 10th place, Individual Top Advocacy

In the runup to this international tournament, Principia competed successfully in two regional matches in October, claiming a total of eleven individual awards and six team awards, including three 1st-place individual awards and two 2nd-place team finishes.

The international tournament in Canada concludes undergraduate competition for the year. However, based on the team’s performance in Toronto, Principia has qualified—for a record-setting seventh year in a row—to compete in the Law School Mediation Championship Tournament, to be held in Chicago in March 2020. The team, coached by multidisciplinary professor Dr. Jeff Steele, is already gearing up for the March competition. 

Team members pictured above, from left: Olivia Burbee, Grace St. George, Will Adler,  Delaney Gatine, Mackenzie Batten, Hunter Hummell, Juliet Beck, Sarah Switzer, and Jessica Stokes. Not pictured: Grace Pecheck.