Creighton University’s mock trial and law school hosted their annual 2025 George McNary Bluejay Invitational. Aside from the two Bluejay teams in attendance, 10 other universities – about 17 teams total, as some universities had two to three teams – competed in simulated court trials at the Mike and Josie Harper Center and the Ahmanson Law Center on the weekend of Nov. 8.
“I was really proud of how everyone performed. While we might not have won every single round, you could see people’s scores go up throughout the weekend, which is, as someone who was captain just for that weekend, was really cool to see,” Logan Yogi, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences and mock trial attorney, said. “And that’s really the best part about why I like being a captain … [be]cause it’s really fun to see people improve and grow and change.”
During the awards portion of the invitational, Creighton College of Arts and Sciences freshman Vanessa Trevino was awarded “Best Witness for Defense” and ranked 17 out of 20 on her evaluation from the judges.
“Going into Bluejay [Invitational], I was really nervous. … It was my very first mock trial competition, and I had no idea what to expect. Plus, I was doubling as a defense witness and a prosecution attorney. To know that I ranked on ballots in both roles was really surprising but so exciting too,” Trevino said. “When I won my award for being a top witness, I was shocked but, more than anything, I was really proud of myself. It was a tough weekend, but I was so happy to see that my hard work paid off and that it was recognizable for the judges.”
Yogi was awarded “Best Attorney for Plaintiff” and ranked 18 out of 20 on his evaluation from the judges. However, as he was called to fill in the position of captain at the last minute for the tournament, much of his feelings of accomplishment stemmed from his team’s overall performance throughout the weekend. According to Yogi, he recognized that for many of his teammates, this was their very first time competing at the college level.
“I think for the vast majority of the people on that team, this was their first tournament and for everyone except for me, this was their first time doing this case for the year. And so … it’s always very intimidating and it’s always very nerve-wracking and it’s always very overwhelming at first, especially if you’ve never done mock trial,” Yogi said. “And so I think … at the beginning there was a lot of nerves and hesitation towards everything, but once everyone did their first round, there was so much more confidence in the second round and then our scores went up and so it was really great to see people find more confidence in themselves to be able to do this.”
According to College of Arts and Sciences junior Sam Fanson, the tournament director of the 2025 invitational, the competition itself was successful with participants being able to gain a balanced experience of fun and rivalry.
“When rounds aren’t actively going on, it tended to be a more fun environment where it’s a bunch of schools meeting each other and getting to kind of talk about the case. And there’s a lot of inside jokes because the case is kind of crazy – there’s a lot of weird facts in it – but when the rounds actually happen, it is very serious, [since] trial and court’s going on. It gets kind of competitive sometimes, a little – I don’t want to say aggressive – but competitive,” Fanson said.