COUNTYWIDE : La Reina High Wins Mock Trial Contest

The dynasty continues.

Thousand Oaks’ La Reina High School won its third consecutive Ventura County Mock Trial Competition on Thursday, earning a trip to Sacramento to compete in the state finals next month.

“This is incredible,” junior Mary Lewinski said as she and her teammates celebrated like World Series champions late Thursday night. “All of our hard work paid off.”

Mary played the part of a prosecuting attorney during the three-day event that ended with four teams vying for the championship at the Ventura County Courthouse. More than 280 students from 13 high schools participated this week.

The contest, sponsored by the Ventura County superintendent of schools, culminated six months of intense preparation for the competitive event.

Students played the roles of attorneys, witnesses and other courtroom characters as they argued a real-life criminal case involving a carjacking, issues of due process and California’s “three strikes” law. Each school took turns prosecuting or defending the case with real judges presiding, and local attorneys helped with the scoring.

More than 90 attorneys and judges donated their time this week. In addition, each school was coached by local attorneys, who gave hundreds of hours of their time to prepare the students.

Senior prosecutor Donald C. Glynn coached La Reina to its fifth crown in the last seven years. “These are smart kids,” he said.

Camarillo High placed second for the second consecutive year while Buena High School placed third, making it to the competition’s final four for the first time in the event’s 13-year history.

“We’ll be back next year and we’ll win the whole thing,” prosecutor Ron S. Bamieh said of Buena High, the team he helped coach. Thousand Oaks High School finished fourth in the competition.