After only being a team for five years, the Three Village mock trial team has been able to make a significant mark in the Suffolk County division of the New York State Bar Association’s high school mock trial program, completing an unrivaled winning streak during their last regular season trial.

The team, composed of seventeen students from both Ward Melville and Gelinas and led by Gelinas English teacher Mr. Elliot, marked their fifth undefeated regular season on Wednesday March 6th when they beat Kings Park High School. This win guaranteed the mock trial a team a spot in the first round of playoffs, as well as the number two spot in their division.

Mock trial, although a relatively unknown extracurricular at Ward Melville, has had great amount of success in their short five years of being a team. The success the team has had may be largely in part be accredited to the amount of time and dedication each member of the team puts into the activity. The team practices at least five hours a week, often meeting on weekends and evenings, to get a better familiarity with the case and materials.

“Besides the incredible amount of time and effort we put in each year, we always strive to work together as one unit and this family bond we have has made our team extremely successful,” said senior attorney and vice president Leio Koga.

To continue to advance throughout the playoff season, the Mock Trial team must put in more time and practice than during the regular season, as only the top sixteen teams make the cut, and one loss would mean an immediate end to the team’s season.

“The most important thing to keep in mind while we go into playoffs is that while we may have gotten this far, our season is still only just starting up and we need to keep on working just as hard even though we already have a couple of wins,” said senior witness Emma McBrien.

After winning the first trial of the playoff season, the Three Village mock trial team will be competing against West Islip in the quarter finals on Wednesday, March 20th.