Mock Trial Team makes it to county finals

On Jan. 30 and Feb. 6 both the San Marin Mock Trial defense and prosecution teams competed in the county tournament. Following the regular rounds in the competition, the team had a record of three wins and one loss. The two teams that made it to the finals were Marin Catholic High School (MCHS) and San Marin High School (SMHS). This was historic for Marin County because for the first time in 25 years, Tamalpais High School did not win County finals. 

The two teams competed on Feb. 6 for three consecutive hours over zoom. At 8:30 p.m., they announced that MCHS would be moving on to the state final. 

“It was absolutely amazing that we made it to finals and that we were a part of the team that broke the dynasty of Tam making finals,” Mock Trial team member junior Dina Johnson said. “I don’t think it is a big deal that we lost because we made it to finals for the second year in a row and that in and of itself is an accomplishment.”

In addition to competing in the final round, multiple students on the SMHS team won blue ribbon awards for their roles in the trial. Leo Perez won for his role as a defense attorney, Emma Rice for her role as defense attorney with opening statement, Anna Kilgariff for Defense Attorney with closing statement, Dillon Gaidano for expert witness, Josh Danziger for defense pretrial arguments, Stefania Bitton won two awards for her roles as journalist and courtroom clerk, and Katerin Racancoj won two awards for her roles as a character witness and artist.

“I am so proud of this team,” Alumni Coach Kaitlyn Thomson said. “They worked for months, meeting on Zoom with coaches and with their teammates, working to perfect their case. While San Marin did not win county this year, there is not much to be disappointed about. The team has made the county finals two years in a row, and they continue to come hungrier each year. The students support each other and enjoy being part of the team, which makes it hard to be anything but extremely proud of them.”