For the fifth straight year, Aptos High and Santa Cruz High faced each other in the final round of the mock trial county championship — and Santa Cruz High emerged the winner.
Aptos High School students on the mock trial defense team assemble in the courthouse. • Photo Credit: Kevin Mitchener
Aptos High coach Kevin Mitchener said the trial was close throughout with Santa Cruz narrowly defeating Aptos to move on to the state competition.
After the trial, the scoring attorneys singled out the two expert witnesses, Carmella Rennell for Aptos and Nicole Qing for Santa Cruz, as having given particularly convincing performances.
“I was proud of how well each of the team members of Aptos stepped up in the final round,” Mitchener said. “After three weeks of competition, each member of the team gave their best performance of the season in the final round. The 12 seniors have left behind a strong legacy for future teams to live up to.”
The finals took place on Feb. 20 at the Santa Cruz County Superior Court. Aptos High defeated Harbor High and Santa Cruz High defeated Watsonville High in the semifinal round Feb. 18 to vie for the championship.