CEDARVILLE — Cedarville University’s 20-member Model United Nations team excelled at the regional Dayton Model United Nations competition, held Feb. 3-4, at Sinclair Community College.

The team, led by captains Sage Showers (Hammon, Oklahoma), Jonny Gartner (Sunbury), and Benjamin Mays (Middletown), claimed 10 honors, including Outstanding Delegation and Distinguished Delegation.

Joining Cedarville in the competition were teams from Wright State University, the University of Dayton, and University of Mount Union.

Gartner and senior Abigail Rist (Kyiv, Ukraine) led Cedarville to the Outstanding Delegation award in the Simulated Security Council and International Atomic Energy Agency. Teammates Stephen Mattackal (Cedarville) and Emma Blakemore (Lexington, Kentucky) were pivotal as Cedarville claimed the Distinguished Delegation award in the Security Council and Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice categories.

“Students who participate on the team are of the highest academic caliber and balance not only Model U.N. but also many other extracurriculars on top of their academic workload,” Gartner said. “Cedarville’s Model UN team is a representation of our student body’s commitment to excellence in effort and representing Christ well in all we do.”

Seven students on the team won honorable mentions, including Zachary Cavin, (Warren) Mays, Hannah Dunham (Southgate, Michigan), Sarah Colgan (Raleigh, North Carolina), and Thaddian Burson (Cedarville).

Model U.N. team members compete with other students and colleges from around the world to diplomatically advocate for the policy positions of the country they are assigned to represent. Students typically participate in the National Collegiate Model U.N. Conference in New York City every year, as well as two local competitions, one of which is the Dayton Model United Nations Conference.