EXECUTIVE BOARD

Ryder Becker

As President, Ryder is responsible for managing the entire organization, ensuring our three teams can operate efficiently. He is a senior double majoring in Political Science and Sociology. This will be Ryder’s fourth season on the Illinois Trial Team, and he can’t wait to defend the working man in this year’s case! Ryder’s favorite memory on the team is getting to compete in the nation’s capitol at last year’s AMTA national tournament. Throughout Ryder’s career, he has attorneyed twice at nationals and placed in the top 10 both times.

Axel Diehl

As VPI, Axel manages our teams tournament schedule and acts as a liaison between our program, the American Mock Trial Association, and the University of Illinois’ Law School. Axel is a Junior studying Political Science with a minor in Business. This will be Axels third year on the Illinois Trial Team, and he’s excited to create new memories with some of his closest friends! Axel’s favorite part of competing on the Illinois Trial Team is spending weekends with his friends and working together as a team to create the best work possible.

Marcie Baron

As VPE, Marcie is responsible for coordinating recruitment, fundraising, and running ITT's high school clinic. She also manages our wonderful social media page! She is a senior majoring in History with a minor in Legal Studies. This will be Marcie's fourth year on the ITT mock trial, and she's excited to compete alongside her teammates who have become some of her closest friends! One of her favorite memories on this team was winning the Crimson Classic tournament in her first year on the team. Marcie's favorite aspect of mock trial is the community that challenges and supports her to be a better competitor--definitively shown by her outstanding career awards: 1 witness award and 3 attorney awards. 

Aditya Gulati

As Treasurer, Adi handles the team’s finances. He’s a junior majoring in Political Science with a Law and Power concentration, and a minor in Economics. One of his favorite memories from this year was bye-busting at the Great Lakes Gauntlet! Please feel free to reach out to him with any invoices or questions about membership dues. 

Padmasri Thirunarayanan

Padmasri is this year’s tournament director, and is honored to be put to the task of coordinating the 2026-2027 19th annual Illini Invite! She is majoring in Political Science, and loves to discuss anything on the subject! As a sophomore, this is Padmasri’s second year on the team, but she also has three years of high school mock trial experience as well! She’s excited to meet new members this year, and have a lot of fun this season bringing home heavy hardware! 

Jason Tancredi

As Secretary, Jason handles the organization's information, manages case materials and the website, and facilitates communication between members. He is a sophomore majoring in Political Science and Philosophy with a minor in Linguistics, and this will be his second year on the team. Last year he took on the national competition handling the defense experts, and he looks forward to defending the accused this year! 

Marco Youash

Insert Marco information