Riverside Unified Student Wins High School Mock Trial Championship

Martin Luther King High School senior Alia Duckworth won the 2026 GLADIATOR World Championship, one of the nation's premier individual high school mock trial competitions, held in Philadelphia from July 24-26.

GLADIATOR brings together many of the world's top high school mock trial competitors, including students from championship-winning programs across the United States and beyond. GLADIATOR is a one-on-one tournament that challenges competitors to demonstrate their skills independently as both attorneys and witnesses over multiple rounds.

After advancing through four preliminary trials and the tournament playoffs, Duckworth emerged as the 2026 world champion, earning the competition's iconic life-size gladiator helmet trophy and the title of "Best in the World."

Duckworth's victory comes on the heels of another successful season for Martin Luther King High School's mock trial team. The Wolves have won the annual Riverside County Mock Trial Competition three times (2007, 2018, 2021) and finished second in the county in February 2026. 

Since its inception in 2015, GLADIATOR has welcomed more than 400 competitors from 25 states and five countries. Participants include many of the nation's most accomplished mock trial students, with competitors collectively earning more than 1,000 attorney and witness awards through local, state, and national competitions.