Skyline Mock Trial Teams Place in Top 10 at State

The weekend of March 20–22, Skyline’s Green and Silver Mock Trial teams traveled to Tacoma to compete with 26 of Washington State’s top teams at the YMCA Youth & Government State Mock Trial Tournament at the Pierce County Superior Court. Competitive rounds began Friday evening and continued through Saturday, with the final round concluding early Sunday evening; more than 12 hours of competition in total.

Both teams had strong performances, each finishing with a 3–1 record and earning eight ballots out of a possible 12. Skyline Silver placed ninth and Skyline Green placed eighth overall.

Individual students also received nominations for Best Witness and Best Attorney from the three raters in each round. Nominees from Skyline include:

Best Witness:

• Haifa H., Claire J., Sana P. , Claire D., Hanna O., Preston M., Sidd K., Harshitha A., Pranav R., Ishaan V., Elle P.
   

Best Attorney:

• Henry D., Ishi S., Shivani R., Ava M., Arnov T., Ananya I., Isabel M., Reva S.

The teams extend sincere thanks to parents and guardians for chaperoning, transporting, and supporting students through dozens of hours of practice this season. We also deeply appreciate the many hours of guidance, training, and feedback provided by:

• Judge Michael Finkle (East King District Court, Redmond)
   
• Hon. Michelle Gehlsen (East King District Court, Redmond)
   
• Megan Dunn (Department of Assigned Counsel, Pierce County)
   
• Phil Su (Private Defense Attorney)

Alumni who helped with feedback and scrimmages: Aleena H. ’20, Rapha G. ’20, Nathan W. ’21, Audrey C. ’24, and Raghav P. ’24.

Thank you as well to Skyline staff Lisa Froman, Kathy Makin, Christine Watson, and Shawna Borichewski for their ongoing support with fundraising and trip planning.

Competition recap submitted by Curtis von Trapp, Skyline High School CTE Teacher - Police Forensics & Criminal Justice, Mock Trial Advisor, Forensics Club Advisor.