On May 23rd and 24th two Hillsdale teams competed at the Tournament of Champions, a national tournament of 32 teams from 19 states. Hillsdale placed 2nd in one division, just missing the finals, and 4th in the other (both divisions consisting of 16 teams). It was a fantastic team effort.
Congratulations to Lexi Kolb and Cadence Puls for winning top witness awards, and to Pooja Agarwal and Jack Spillner for winning top attorney awards (and also winning automatic invitations to Gladiator in the process).
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 About a week before the start of the state finals, Hillsdale received a wild card bid to compete at the state competition. Through four rounds, facing La Jolla Country Day, Ventura Academy, Marin Catholic, and Carmel, we went 4-0 (all very close matches) and headed to the final against Trinity. Though we came up short in the final, it was a tight match and a great end to a great season. It was the first time our team has made it to the states since 2010, when Hillsdale won the state championship. In addition, Sabrina Gansen won the competition's best portrayal of expert witness Jes Beaart.
Congratulations to all those who participated. And to you all those who helped us prepare and those who were supporting us behind the scenes, THANK YOU.
A year that had the potential to be disappointment, turned out to be the opposite in an inspiring end of the season run that saw both of our teams compete for championships in the county final.
Congratulations to our JV Team who won their third straight championship defeating Menlo in a tough final round. And congratulations to our Varsity team who finished 2nd in a close and hard fought final against Menlo. And a HUGE thank you to the seniors (above, left to right): Abigail Phillips, Nicole Masarova, Ryan Berkshire, Gabrielle Rodriguez, Uma Ganeshan, Sammie Morris-Beber, Jack Price, Frank Mathura, and Allison Rulli. They led the way with skill and leadership all the way through. Also, a big thank you to Allyson Chan who is graduating early and has been a talented member of this program for the last three years. You are a special bunch of students. You will have left the program in a better place than you found it, and your younger colleagues have already benefited from your influence and generosity.  After the most rigorous and competitive tryout season in years, we are back at it and ready to go. Congratulations to our new members:
On April 25, Hillsdale and the San Mateo County Bar Association will host San Mateo's first middle school competition at Hillsdale High School. The case, People v. Roid, was written by two Hillsdale seniors, Brie Sloves and Nicole Taurany. The case features a robbery charge, an alien conspiracy theory, missing parents, a and a combustible sibling conflict. If you're interested in attending, scoring or judging, please contact Brie Sloves at slovesbrianna@yahoo.com.  On February 13, Hillsdale JV Mock Trial won its 2nd straight JV championship against a very tough and talented Menlo team. Congratulations JV!  After the most competitive tryouts in years, and many hard choices, we have chosen both our varsity and JV teams. Congratulations to our brand new members (listed below). We are excited to get started.
Guy Marmor Bridget Vause Julia Rogers Caroline Lim Lenny Lyakhovich Cadence Puls Katie Westberg Samantha Snailer Jordan Gross Clare Lucey Iris Budiman Stephanie Neuendorff Max Kranzler Jamie Sloves Cole Baker Graziella Allendorff Maya Sanchez Maya Mussleman Our first scrimmages are: October 12: Varsity @ Sacramento Country Day (4-way with Shasta, Sac Day, and Clovis) November 2: JV v. Moreau Catholic @ Moreau
What is Mock Trial?
Mock trial is an annual statewide legal competition between high schools. The competition is based on a criminal case file, often reflecting actual events. The case file includes evidence, witness statements, documents, police reports, rules of evidence etc.; in other words everything that a real criminal case would include. Each school selects a team of attorneys and witnesses, as well as a pre-trial attorney who argues a pre-trial motion. Students then put on trials in county court against other schools. The trials are in actual courtrooms in front of real judges, and closely follow the procedures of a real criminal trial. Mock trial teaches advanced analytical ability, critical thinking, public speaking, presentation skills, the basic content and processes of our legal system, and self-confidence. The result is that mock trial students have the opportunity to acquire elite skills—an opportunity that is not available to other students, even those in advanced AP courses. At Hillsdale, our mock trial team takes the opportunity to showcase its skills seriously. Each year we scrimmage and compete against the best teams in the state. Most importantly, the idea is to have fun. And we do. The camaraderie and experience of competing at a high level are memories students will never forget. Indeed, the mock trial experience often creates students’ most important high school memories, forms lifelong friendships, and builds a long-lasting connection to a tremendous community of students and coaches. How Do I Join? During the first two weeks of September we will be doing a series of promotional events, including providing information in each Freshman advisory, providing informational tables at Back-to-School night, Club Day, and the Freshman Mix-and-Mingle. We will also hold an informational meeting on September 15 at 1:00 in room 110. During that period you will have chance to sign up to receive additional information, including tryout information, and ask any questions. We will conducts tryouts starting on September 21 and continuing through September 25. Depending on your preferred role we will assign you a time for a particular day to tryout. The week before we will also hold after-school workshops on certain skills you will need to tryout successfully. I Have Questions Right Now If you have any questions please stop by Mr. Springman's room (242), and he'll be happy to answer any questions you have. You can also email him at mspringman@smuhsd.org. |
Hillsdale Mock TrialThe Hillsdale Mock Trial team is the competitive mock trial team for Hillsdale High School in San Mateo, CA. Archives
March 2022
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