Dos Pueblos High School’s mock trial team was edged out by defending champion La Reina High on Sunday at the 31st annual California Mock Trial Finals in Sacramento.

“We went out swinging with our best performance to date,” Dos Pueblos coach Bill Woodard said in an email to supporters before the vanquished Chargers headed home to Goleta.

Sunday’s championship was the second in a row for La Reina, an all-girls Catholic prep school in Thousand Oaks. With the victory, La Reina became the first high school since Lincoln High in San Jose won back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002. La Reina also won the state championship in 2008 and a world invitational last November.

The finals match was held at the Sacramento Federal Courthouse. Mock trial teams from schools representing 30 of California’s 58 counties participated in the championship, which came down to a 2½-hour duel between Dos Pueblos and La Reina. Earlier this month, Dos Pueblos edged out San Marcos High for the Santa Barbara County championship.

Next up for La Reina is the National High School Mock Trial Championship in Albuquerque in May.

The California Mock Trial Finals are organized by the nonprofit Constitutional Rights Foundation, which is dedicated to educating America’s youth about the importance of civic participation in a democratic society.

Click here for the complete story on The Charger Account, Dos Pueblos High’s student-run news site and a Noozhawk affiliate.

Dos Pueblos Mock Trial Team

» Joel Block

» Delia Bullock

» Scott Campbell

» Madeleine Centrella

» Agnetta Cleland

» Wes Cooperman

» Ray Cothern

» Hannah Cruz

» Paisha Fellows

» Maureen Grattan

» Niranjanna Jeeva

» Bela Lafferty

» Alison Mally

» Madeline Matthys

» Nadine Pearson

» Brian Pinner

» Ryan Polito

» Nimisha Shinday

» Emma Steinkellner

» Sean Strong

» Ami Thakrar

» Connie Wang

» Jake Wiener

» Cheryl Wilson

» Camille Wyss

» Sophia Zheng

— Noozhawk publisher Bill Macfadyen can be reached at wmacfadyen@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.

Bill Macfadyen is Noozhawk’s founder and publisher. Contact him at wmacfadyen@noozhawk.com, and follow him on Instagram: @bill.macfadyen. The opinions expressed are his own.