Months of preparation, late-night practices, and intense courtroom battles culminated in one unforgettable mock trial season. With the competition season running from September through February, students showcased their talents and performances across three rounds of competition at the Redwood City courthouse.
There are only three guaranteed rounds, making each performance crucial for achieving high scores that influence their placement within the southern division. Varsity competes against six other schools, including some of the top schools in the county, like Hillsdale HS and Menlo HS. Meanwhile, JV is against 11 schools, including the most challenging high schools countywide. The increased competition created significant pressure to secure a top ranking.
On Thursday, January 22, JV and Varsity stepped into the courthouse for the first time this season. With both JV and Varsity Defense competing against Crystal Springs, Varsity Prosecution competing against Menlo, and JV competing against Carlmont.
“I think . . . we’ve all performed very, very well, I think especially in comparison to the other team, our witnesses were a lot more entertaining. You know, we also had some issues, a couple medical emergencies, and so kind of, you know, considering we were able to still get through all of our material and beat crystal like that was really good considering the totality of the circumstances, if you will,” said Defense Lead Niki Tzartzanis.
Despite close competition, round one was a strong start to the season, with Varsity placing 4th and JV showing room for improvement after being ranked 8th. The practices after round one focused on refining the material and improving performance.
On Thursday, January 29th, students returned to the courthouse for round two, where varsity successfully held their place in 4th, while JV had an outstanding night, jumping all the way to 4th place as well, earning them a shot at qualifying for the semi-finals. The following practice after the competition focused on witness control. Members learned and improved their skills in combating aggressive attorneys and witnesses. Attorneys specifically focused on studying the rules they can use to protect their witnesses from opposing counsel’s potentially hostile tactics.
“Well, personally, I think I could improve by trying to not manage my witness, but knowing how to control them and how to make sure that their answers don’t go on for too long, because a lot of them kind of meander in an attempt to try to cut off some of my questions,” explained JV prosecution attorney Rachel Cornwell.
The last round took place on February 5th and resulted in Varsity finishing fourth, unfortunately not qualifying for states. JV did not qualify for the semi-finals. While team members were not pleased with the result, they are still proud of all the hard work, persistence, and dedication they put in over the last six months.
“ I hope that’s [the feeling of resilience] what people carry forward, that feeling of happiness when we did so well, when we had our peak performance. I hope they cary that feeling of badness when they heard that we didn’t make it to semifinals. I hope they carry that across, because to get through like mock trial, you really need a lot of resilience. You really need to see that finish line,” shared Captain Aleeya Baqai when discussing who she hopes the team takes away from the season.
While the competition season is over for JV and Varsity, veterans and rookies alike grew their tallents and skills inside and outside of the courtroom. Now showcase is up to take the stand as they work towards their performance on February 24th.
