PHC brings home its 14th Moot Court National Championship

Senior Trinity Klomparens looked out above PHC’s gymnasium at the blue and white banners celebrating PHC’s moot court wins since 2005. She remembered when she first came to PHC her freshman year and looked in awe at those same banners, thinking, “It’d be so cool to get one.”  Now, in her senior year, it has become a reality.

Klomparens and senior Sarah Fox secured first place for PHC in the 2025 Moot Court National Championship held at Texas Tech School of Law in Lubbock, TX. In doing so, they defeated Yale University and earned PHC its 14^th Moot Court National Championship title in oral advocacy.

Klomparens and Fox, Jason Chahyadi and Ainsley Stellman, Wyatt Trull and Allie Satterfield, and Mark Epstein and James Staub were the four teams picked to represent PHC at Nationals from PHC's pool of qualifying teams. They competed against teams from Yale, Morehouse, Liberty, and quite a few top California schools.

“Every year at Nationals it's really hard. But, especially so this year,” said Fox.

She and Klomparens had been preparing since the case came out in May 2024. Since the beginning of the Spring 2025 semester, they met almost every day for an hour to practice together.

This high amount of preparation played a big part in their success, but it was more than that. Klomparens and Trinity attribute a large part of the win to PHC’s faculty and other PHC students.

PHC’s Head Coach, Peter Kamakawiwoole, who won Nationals in 2005, coached them and others for hours on end, aiming a fire hose of legal information at them. Because of this, they were prepared to answer even the most obscure questions that judges might ask in the rounds.

“He is very confident in our abilities, and gives us a good example of what healthy, humble confidence looks like,” Fox said.

Other amazing mentors such as PHC’s founder, Michael Farris, the Executive Vice President, Howard Schmidt, the Forensics Program Coordinator, Susan Johnson, and experienced alumni, all added their skill sets and knowledge to help the teams succeed.

Not only did the faculty come alongside those competing, but every Moot Court student helped each other.

“Our students work very hard to prepare and work collaboratively to help each other succeed—the whole environment is that they are all one team and they are intentional about keeping a culture of ‘iron sharpens iron,’” Johnson said.

This mindset of selflessness and teamwork was the same with which all four teams rose and cheered junior James Staub at the Moot Court National Championship when he was called up to accept the 1^st place award for individual oral advocacy.

This fostering of knowledge and love towards brothers and sisters in Christ is key to PHC’s mission. To train Christian men and women to lead the nation and shape the culture requires a broad skill set in communication that must be winsome yet persuasive, kind yet powerful, and clear yet compelling.

“When others interview our graduates, they stand out, are comfortable speaking, can present logical oral arguments, and listen well. Changing the world in which we live starts with excellent listening, thinking, speaking, and writing skills, all of which are developed at PHC. Our forensics program plays a key part in this development,” Vice President Schmidt said.

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Patrick Henry College challenges the unacceptable status quo in higher education by combining the academic strength and commitment to biblical principles that elite institutions have lost; a commitment to high academic rigor, fidelity to the spirit of the American founding, and an unwavering biblical worldview.