Murrieta Valley Mock Trial Takes Second in County

The mock trial team from came in second place today in the , it was announced.

After nearly a month of court battles and four hours of legal drama on the final day of competition, Riverside’s Poly High School team emerged as the 2012 Riverside County Mock Trial champion Saturday at the Riverside Historic Courthouse, according to a news release.

Murrieta Valley (Team A) finished second and Xavier Preparatory and King high schools tied for third.

Schools participated in the competition that began Feb. 8 at regional courts in Indio, Temecula and Riverside, said Rick Peoples, spokesperson for the Riverside County Office of Education.

To get to the final four round Saturday, the Murrieta Valley team had to first make it through Elite Eight competition, which they have not accomplished since the team began six or seven years ago, said Ryan Talamantes, a senior at Murrieta Valley and the student captain for Team A.

"We have always had a curse when we would get to Elite Eight—we would get eliminated," Ryan told Patch.

Last year, the team that outdid them in this year's final round.

"So when we made it to the final today you can imagine our disbelief," Ryan said. "We were excited about that."

Out of 500 students and 30 teams representing 29 Riverside County high schools, Ryan said the team is happy they broke the curse and came in second.

Of three comprehensive high schools in the Murrieta Valley Unified School District, Murrieta Valley High has the only mock trial program.

This marks the first year Murrieta Valley has two teams: Team A and Team B. Ryan, who joined mock trial in his sophomore year, explained that because of the popularity of the program, two teams were formed. Team A is varsity and Team B is junior varsity, he said.

Mock trial involves students arguing cases in front of real judges and scored by real attorneys. This year students argued People vs. Buschell, a murder trial. The event is sponsored annually by the Riverside County Office of Education, Riverside County Bar Association, and the Riverside Superior Courts.

Assisting the Murrieta Valley Team A this year were teacher and coach Todd Thornburg, attorney Read Webb, former Military Judge Frank Delzampo and Lisa Delzampo, Ryan said. Assisting Team B this year was new attorney coach Catherine Vincent, he said.

Ryan said he was grateful for the program. He plans to go to law school, and said he will be the first person in his family to graduate college.

He described Murrieta Valley mock trial as a melting pot of students where "cliques" do not apply. This year's teams included band members, newspaper students and water polo players, he said, to name a few.

"More than anything, it helps us build confidence," he said.

Poly High's win qualifies them to go on to represent Riverside County at the California State Mock Trial Competition being held March 23-25 in Sacramento.

If for some reason Poly High can not attend, Murrieta Valley may get the opportunity to go in their place, Ryan said.