For the first time in school history, the Pacific Coast High School mock trial team has become a finalist in the Constitutional Rights Foundation’s Orange County High School Mock Trial Competition.
You may remember them as, arguably, the smallest mock trial team in the county, but the 10-student squad ‘wowed the judge’ during last night’s semifinal competition, according to PCHS teacher and mock trial team coach Amy Sydoruk.
“The judge was very impressed,” PCHS Principal Machele Kilgore said. “He said he has participated in this competition for many years, but he has never seen two teams perform this strong without using any notes.”
The PCHS mock trial team will take on Trabuco Hills High School in the final leg of the competition on Saturday, Dec. 17 at the Orange County Central Justice Center in Santa Ana. The winner of the county competition moves on to compete at the California Mock Trials Finals in March in Riverside at the Hall of Justice and Historic Courthouse.
[Updated, Dec. 19: We’ve got the final results for you here.]