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COURTESY PHOTOThe Dos Pueblos Mock Trial Team meets with U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal in the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
The Dos Pueblos Mock Trial team recently celebrated a third-place finish at a national competition in Baltimore.
The team from the Goleta high school competed Sept. 23-25 at the Empire Mock Trial invitational tournament.
The competition drew teams from all over the country and one group from Canada. After weeks of intense preparation, Dos Pueblos placed third overall, just missing the championship round.
In addition to three days of jam-packed competition, the team also spent a day in Washington, D.C.
Members went to the African American History Museum before heading to the Capitol, where they met with U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara. Next, the group toured the Capitol with one of the congressman’s legislative assistants.
Rep. Carbajal was back in Santa Barbara this week, and on Wednesday, he came to Dos Pueblos High School to present the mock trial team with congressional commendations.
“I’m so proud that the mock trial team represented us so well at the national level,” Dr. Hilda Maldonado, superintendent of the Santa Barbara Unified School District, said in a news release. “We are working to be a school district that’s on the move and building successful people in our community. These students are living up to that goal.”
The Dos Pueblos team consisted of Edo Barel, Amelia Mendro, Jacob Molina, Maxfield Steele, Lo Zhu, Charlotte Choi, Anastasia Li, Sienna Valentine and Liam Avolio.
Hannah Krieshok is the team’s faculty adviser. The team is also coached by attorneys Christine Voss and Lisa Rothstein.
“Being able to argue the law, tour the nation’s capital, and even see a baseball game with some of my closest friends was an unforgettable experience I’ll treasure for the rest of my life,” said Edo, who’s a senior at Dos Pueblos.
Ms. Rothstein noted how much adversity the team has worked through after competing primarily on Zoom for two full seasons due to the pandemic.
“It was extraordinary to allow these hard-working students to travel and compete live at an advanced level,” she said. “Each one of them exceeded our high expectations.
“As coaches, we could not be prouder.”
email: kzehnder@newspress.com
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