HARRISBURG (May 10, 2010) - Scranton Preparatory School placed tenth at the National High School Mock Trial Championship, which took place May 6 - 9 in Philadelphia.

The school, which won the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Statewide Mock Trial Competition in March, was among 44 teams competing for the national title. The teams represented 41 U.S. states, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (a commonwealth of 15 islands in the west Pacific Ocean in political union with the U.S.) and South Korea.

More than 750 high school students, teacher coaches and lawyer advisers took active roles in the event, which was hosted by the Pennsylvania Bar Association and supported by hundreds of lawyer and community volunteers. Drexel University was the leadership sponsor.

The Scranton Preparatory School team includes Jennifer Boland, Daniel Penatar, Anna Walsh, Joseph Burke, Devon Sheridan, Stephen Murphy, Christopher Boland and Allison Durkin with timekeeper Aileen Van Wie. Mary Grace Phillips is the teacher coach and attorney coaches are Judge Malachy Mannion and John O'Brien.

Allison Durkin received the President Constantine N. Papadakis Award, one of the 2010 Awards for Mock Trial Excellence. Papadakis, an innovator in higher education with extensive experience in both academe and the corporate world, was president of Drexel University from 1995 until his death in 2009.

Scranton Prep's team took part in a number of events while in Philadelphia, which included a tour of the National Constitution Center.

The mock trial team from B. Reed Henderson High School of West Chester, which placed second at the state competition, received a Sportsmanship Award. The team was on stand-by to compete at the national event had another team been unable to compete. Since the team was not called into play, Henderson's team members served as volunteers at the event.

Pennsylvania's Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition is a project of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. The Pennsylvania Bar Association last hosted the National High School Mock Trial Championship 14 years ago in Pittsburgh.

More information about the national event is available at this Web site: http://www.2010nationalmocktrial.com

Founded in 1895, the Pennsylvania Bar Association strives to promote justice, professional excellence and respect for the law; improve public understanding of the legal system; facilitate access to legal services; and serve the 29,000 lawyers who are members of the association.