A season interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic was nevertheless a successful campaign for Huntington High School’s mock trial team.
The Blue Devils were undefeated at 4-0 and in the midst of a great year as they prepared to enter the Suffolk mock trial tournament. Huntington carried high hopes of winning the county title and advancing to the state championships. The county pairings had been announced, but before the courtroom warriors could argue their first case the ongoing health crisis led to the state shutting schools.
A few weeks following the mandatory school shutdown, the mock trial post-season tournament was cancelled for 2020. It was a disappointing development and not the way the seniors on the team wanted their experience to end.
Volunteer legal advisors Xavier Palacios and John LoTurco recently gathered the team together for a summer celebration that included the presentation of gorgeous plaques and humorous certificates. All the proper social distancing and mask rules were observed for the get together. Faculty advisor Suzie Biagi was also on hand for the festivities.
The Blue Devils said goodbye to a set of spectacular seniors who have given many years and thousands of hours to the program. The group includes Oliver Garcia-Martinez (CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice), Joseph Mead (Loyola University Maryland), Lena Annunziata (Penn State University), John Panos (Northeastern University), Lia Shechter (Northeastern University) and Riley Tucker (SUNY College at Geneseo).
Underclassmen Cassidy Casabona, Emily Geller, Ashley Genao, Angie Hernandez-Ramos, Alexis Kaloudis, Sophie Laserson, Jillian LoTurco, Christopher Maichin, Jillian Panos, Tallulah Pitti and Erin Ye were also honored at the celebration. The group includes some spectacular courtroom performers who are expected to play even more prominent roles on the team in 2021.
“Huntington mock trial is truly an amazing program and it allows so many kids to partake in a courtroom-like experience,” Ms. Geller said. “I’ve been lucky enough to participate in trials for the past two years and I’m beyond proud of everything our team has accomplished. From having an undefeated season this year to beating some of our top rivals last year. Each person contributes a substantial amount of time and effort into making the mock trial program what it is today. I am very excited to see what we can achieve this year in the upcoming season. We have a highly motivated team with a lot to prove and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can pull off.”
Huntington’s opponents might be lulled into a false sense of security after seeing so many seniors graduate from the Blue Devil program, but that would be a mistake considering the skills and experience possessed by the team’s returning members.
“I have had an amazing experience in the mock trial program,” Mr. Maichin said. “When I first started my freshman year, I was instantly hooked. I love every aspect of the program; the atmosphere, my teammates, my coaches and even the endless hours of work and preparation we put in to be able to compete at such a high level. As a witness freshman and sophomore year, I was taught to remember everything about my character as well as having to become that character on stand. Being a witness also allowed me to learn from the upperclassmen who were lawyers. Now that the majority of our upperclassmen have graduated, it is time for a lot of us to step into these new positions as lawyers. Although we have very big shoes to fill, I am extremely optimistic about the talent we have going into next season. We have the ability to go really far next year and I am sure we will, with the same amount of hard work and dedication that we have had in the past.”
During the recent awards celebration, Messrs. Palacios and LoTurco took turns speaking about each member of the squad and what they have meant to the program. “You have all helped us establish the Blue Devils as one of the top programs in the state,” Mr. LoTurco said. “We are so proud of all of you.”
“I feel that I contributed and participated very well on the team this past year and gave it my absolute best with the help of the other mock trial members and most importantly Mr. Palacios and Mr. LoTurco,” Ms. Genao said. “Moving forward, I believe we are going to do astounding things. I believe we have learned so much from our seniors and mentors that is going to help us tremendously moving forward. I see a promising and bright future for our mock trial team.”
While the loss of the six talented and experienced seniors will surely sting, Huntington has a very deep bench of returnees and many new faces are expected to join the team next year.
“You have all devoted an incredible amount of time to this program and the improvement each one of you has made is remarkable,” Mr. Palacios said. “We can’t wait to see what each of our graduating seniors is doing to do in college and beyond and we are excited to continuing working with the underclassmen who are all committed to making the Huntington mock trial team the best in Suffolk and the state.”
As the team shifts its attention to a new season there is excitement in the air and the hope that comes with turning the page on how the 2020 concluded.
“Although we lost a group of talented seniors, I am very optimistic that our current team will have another very successful year,” Ms. LoTurco said. “Our team does not currently have any seniors, but our nine returning juniors have invaluable competition experience. I truly hope we get the chance to compete this year since we were all so disappointed last year when competitions were forced to end early.”
