Taking Risks Pays off for Wheatley High School Mock Trial Team
5.5.2025
The Wheatley High School team in Nassau County’s East Williston School District is savoring its victory over county rival Clarke High School in neighboring East Meadow. The win in the Region VII championship secures the team a spot in the state tournament in Albany later this month.
Wheatley’s attorney adviser, former prosecutor David Schwartz, praises his team for having a solid handle on the law.
“That last trial was a fierce battle! We pride ourselves in knowing more law than any other team, but when you go up against a traditionally excellent team like Clarke, it was a battle, and they were on their game,” he said.
One of the team’s strengths, according to co-captain Alicia Wang, is that they are not afraid to apply the law in an abstract or unconventional way.
“We kind of like testing things out at trials. We’ve tried different things like incriminating one of our own witnesses in our first trial,” she said. “We like to come up with new things that other teams haven’t done.”
“They call it risk, but I call it just good lawyering,” added Schwartz. “When you get to the point where you become a master of the law and a master of the facts, you don’t need a script. They’ve figured out how to get out of their comfort zone and become terrific attorneys and witnesses.”
Co-captain Michael Bank says the long hours of preparation played a significant role in the team’s success.
“It’s a testament to all this work that we’ve put in. You know it’s helped me realize, that the more time and effort you put into something, the more you get out of it,” he said. “This year we really stepped it up, it was a make-or-break year, and we really wanted this win.”
The hard work has paid off in many ways for team members. Co-captain Adriana Petrizzo is now interested in pursuing a career in law as she heads to college next year.
“After a lot of searching, I realized that I actually did want to be a lawyer,” she said. “I ended up curating like a lot of my extracurriculars around law and criminal justice because mock trial developed such a passion in me.”
Schwartz extols the benefits of mock trial for his students while also encouraging other attorneys to volunteer with a team in their area.
“What better community service is there, than to work with the mock trial team and these amazing students? Mock trial is something that will live with all of them for the rest of their lives and will be an asset and a benefit way beyond this season.”
The statewide Mock Trial program and tournament is sponsored by the New York State Bar Association and funded in part by a grant from The New York Bar Foundation. It brings thousands of high school students together each year to learn about the law, practice public speaking and develop life skills. The state tournament with eight regional teams takes place in Albany each May.
