Rosary’s Mock Trial team is one of the best in Orange County. We earned that title last year when we made it into the top eight schools within the county. This year, we’ve been practicing and preparing for months so we can uphold that title during this year’s competition season, which just started a few weeks ago.
On Thursday, Nov. 2, our prosecution team went up against Pacific Academy’s defense team. Our attorneys for the night were Tahlia Jain ‘26, Grace Raskopf ‘25, Valeria Avila ‘24, and Valerie Estrada ‘25, and they directed (questioned) our witnesses Sofia Velasco ‘26, Abby Smith ‘27, Mattie Geronimo ‘24, and Shelby Villalobos ‘25. Prosecution pretrial attorney Tahlia said, “I was in panic mode before the trial, but the nerves disappeared as soon as I started talking because I’ve been preparing for months.” Mathematician Gia Cota ‘26 kept track of everyone’s pacing as the timekeeper, and artist Milexy Mendoza ‘27 drew a scene from the competition as the courtroom artist.
Nerves filled the courthouse—many of these Royals had never been in a Mock Trial competition before. Nonetheless, they persisted, and we got the exciting news that we won our first round!
The following Tuesday, Nov. 7, our defense team took to the podium against Corona Del Mar. Our attorneys were Jaclyn Gonzalez ‘26, Nahomi Saito ‘25, Giselle Gomez ‘26, and Mia Paquette ‘26. They defended alleged murderer, Lexie Curtis ‘27, as well as directed witnesses Kateri Hodge ‘26, Lucy ChoiseulPraslin ‘27, and Melina Beltran ‘27. Milexy reappeared as our courtroom artist, and prosecution witness Abby wrote up an article as the courtroom journalist. Kaitlyn Martinez ‘27 made sure the court was in order as our bailiff.
Corona Del Mar put up a good fight, and Royals went home very unsure about the verdict that would be revealed the next day. On Wednesday, we were all anxiously refreshing the website and finally got to celebrate as we saw a bright green “W” flash across our screens.
This Tuesday, Nov. 14, our defense team returned to the court and competed against Trabuco Hills. Our lineup was slightly altered; attorneys included Melanie Kamel ‘24, Nahomi, Mia, and Regine Manuel ‘27, and they directed witnesses Lexie, Kateri, Lucy, and Amanda Fernandez ’27. Gia returned to her role as our unofficial timekeeper alongside our bailiff, Kaitlyn. Prosecution pretrial attorney and Royal Reporter writer Tahlia wrote up an article as the courtroom journalist, and Milexy returned yet again as our courtroom artist with a new artist, Miabella Baeza ‘26.
It was a super close match, but in the end, we ended up losing by just a few points. Thankfully, the huge number of points we received will give us a better shot at making it to the playoffs! The courts haven’t seen the last of us.
Thursday, Nov. 16, our prosecution team went up against reigning OC champs, University High School. Our lineup was the same as on Nov. 2, except I went up instead of Tahlia. Milexy and Miabella drew up scenes from the court as our courtroom artists again.
It was a really close match and we’re still awaiting the results, so wish us luck! While this is unfortunately my last Rosary Mock Trial season, I can’t wait to see what the future holds for these amazing lawyers and actresses.
