Winning isn’t new for Skyline’s Mock Trial team. However, it is one of their biggest accomplishments since their 2009 State Championship.
Skyline High School won the 2015 State Mock Trial Competition against 28 other regional champions on March 7. The team will now compete in the National Mock Trial competition in Raleigh, North Carolina on May 14-16.
It took months of preparation to help the team be successful at competition.
The team stuck to a strict practice regimen, meeting four days a week, including Saturday mornings. As a result of practicing for many weeks and hours, the team believes they can be successful at Nationals.
Junior Regina Campbell, who received the outstanding advocate award, has her beliefs about why the team was able to win State.
“We stayed focused and studied the rules, watched other teams’ techniques, and spent a lot of time practicing and memorizing,” Campbell said. “We worked tirelessly to be able to say that we were the best, and we were.”
All those hours of hard work also helped the students get closer and better prepared than their competition.
“The best part of the competition was working with the team and forming a bond with each other,” Mock Trial co-captain Priscella Cisneros, a senior, said. “Regina has played my attorney for the past three years, and we really gained a strong connection.”
Advanced Social Science instructors Dr. Martha Williams and Joe Wicker coach the team and are proud of their students’ accomplishments.
“We competed against the best private and suburban schools and came out on top,” Mr. Wicker said.
With only one month until Nationals, the team is both excited and anxious.
“It’s definitely crunch time now,” Mock Trial captain Taylor Jenkins, a senior, said. “We don’t have as much time to prepare as we did for State.”
The team was also interviewed by local news station CBS 11 on March 17.
“When we heard they won, we wanted to come share this with the community,” said CBS 11 News reporter Steve Pickett. “Often Skyline is in the news for sports recognition, but I wanted to share some of the academic highlights.”
In addition to Campbell and Cisneros, team members include team captain Taylor Jenkins, Jessinia Bonilla, Alexis Lara, Victor Huertas, Liliana Mendoza, Evangelina Rivera, Judge Rock, Lesile Guzman, Christopher Rodriguez, Alexis Pineda and LaTonya Brown.
Skyline students Lola George and Daniela Rivas wrote this article. Skyline students Lola George and Isiah Wilson took the photos.
