Dos Pueblos Finishes Atop The Premier League
California Public School Bests 20 Accomplished Schools for Inaugural Title
After knocking on the doorstep of their state’s championship, 18 high schools just weren’t ready to say goodbye to their season.
Joined by two groups of students from China, these 20 accomplished schools battled for the title of Empire Premier League Championship, having qualified for the right to do so.
After 4 preliminary trials, followed by 3 single elimination playoffs, we were finally ready to crown a Spring Leagues Champion. Nervously sitting behind their laptops, the teams and the mock trial community awaited Empire’s big announcement:
“By a count of 12-5… your inaugural Spring Leagues Champion…
“Dos Pueblos High School”
The Champs Story
Dos Pueblos High School is no stranger to international competition. Not only are they Empire veterans, but they’re former Empire World Champions, having captured the honor in 2015.
After finishing second in their state, and third at Empire Baltimore, the seniors of Dos Pueblos were looking for a new challenge. And it wasn’t what you’d initially think.
“They decided that we should not only enter the first Empire online Spring Leagues, but they should do it without coach help,” said the school’s coach Lisa Rothstein, who did not coach the Spring Leagues’ team.
But the seniors didn’t stop there.
While preparing for their own competition, seniors Jacob Molina, Maxfield Steele and Edo Barel decided to take on the added challenge of coaching a second Dos Pueblos team: the school’s B-team that participated in the Sapphire League, a tournament open to any team that wished to compete.
I know what you’re thinking.
Hang on. Let me get this straight…
Not only did Jacob, Max, and Edo finish 1st in the Premier League after four trials before winning the whole thing on Tuesday night… but they also coached their JV team?!?
They. Sure. Did.
“Jacob, Max and Edo are truly mockstars for the ages,” said Rothstein, beaming with pride.
Making it even more impressive, that JV team finished with a record of 6-2, placing in the top 25% of teams in the Sapphire League.
“All of the kids that took on this extra challenge at the end of a long year are to be commended,” said Rothstein.
Reflecting on their experience, the seniors couldn’t be happier.
“The Empire competition was the perfect environment for the highly competitive and driven team we had this year,” they said in a joint statement, emblematic of the group’s collaborative approach to preparing for trial.
“It was a privilege to compete against so many of the finest mock trial teams on the planet,” said the seniors.
“It was a pleasure to work as a part of the Dos Pueblos Mock Trial program one final time.”
And it was a pleasure for us, at Empire Mock Trial, to host this incredible group of young people.
About the Premier League
A spin on the English football (i.e. soccer) league with the same name, Empire’s Premier League gave schools that had achieved courtroom excellence this year an opportunity to write a new ending to their season.
(AFC Richmond style, for those Ted Lasso fans out there)
In order to qualify, schools needed to place in the top 10 of their state’s competition, or an international equivalent, and/or place top 5 at a fall Empire competition.
“I remember the disappointment of making it to the state finals, but coming up just short,” said Empire’s Executive Director Justin Matarrese, who coached Tottenville High School’s Mock Trial (NY) for over a decade, which included a state championship but also many misses along the way.
“We wanted to reward teams for excelling in their state competition and give them something to look forward to if their season didn’t turn out as they hoped it would.”
The Premier League brought together 20 teams from 12 states, the District of Columbia and China. Hosted at the same time as Empire’s Sapphire League, the field of teams boasted an impressive set of resumes:
(5) state runner-ups
(8) teams placed in the top 5 at state
(5) teams placed in the top 10 at state
(2) international teams that placed in the top 5 at Empire
With this field, there were no easy trials.
After four highly competitive rounds, the top 6 Premier teams advanced to a single-elimination playoff bracket, which became known as Mock Madness. They were joined by the top two Sapphire teams, who were “promoted” for the playoffs.
“I love the top 8 format,” remarked Jennito Simon, the coach of the Premier League runner-up Ft. Lauderdale High School. “I think it gives the best teams an opportunity at the championship, and it puts skills and talent in the driver seat instead of luck.”
Then there were the judges.
Each quarter-finals round featured a panel of 7 scoring jurors, while the semi-finals and finals featured 16 and 17 scorers, respectively.
To reflect the diversity of a real jury pool, and to provide students with an invaluable perspective, Empire prides itself on offering students jury panels that mix experienced “mockers” with practicing lawyers.
“I was very impressed at how many raters you had,” said Andy McCarthy, a long-time coach of the powerhouse Seattle Prep (WA) program and former practicing lawyer, who presided over two playoff rounds. “They’re not all lawyers, but they all had significant mock trial experience.”
Before Mock Madness began, Empire published a playoff bracket, which we updated throughout the playoffs.
You can find the Final 8 bracket here.
“We’ll Be a Better Team Next Year Because of It”
Like any brand new program, the Premier League was an academic experiment that will continue to evolve over time.
But whether they competed for fun, for growth, or for a championship, the consensus seems clear: the students will be better off for their experience.
“We really appreciated the opportunity to compete against such excellent teams, and we thoroughly enjoyed the Empire case,” said Amanda Weathermax, coach of the Ohio state runner-up Talawanda High School, a school new to Empire.
“The PROcess software is also amazing, and the ability to immediately read feedback was helpful.”
Tara Wendell’s team, the School Without Walls (DC), had never competed outside of their local competition before. Her team found their Premier League experience invaluable:
“Empire gave us the chance to improve, try creative tactics with interesting demonstratives and fun theories of the case, and to give students experience in new roles,” said Wendell.
“The students gained the confidence of knowing that we can compete at the highest level.”
The Premier League also featured several Empire veteran teams, including West Linn High School from Oregon. Their coach, Matt Kellogg, has been bringing his teams to Empire for over a decade and had this to say about the Premier League:
“It was a great opportunity for our sophomores and juniors to step into some new roles and start taking leadership,” remarked Kellogg. “Sophomores in particular gained a lot from going against some of the best teams in the country.”
There you have it.
Three schools from three different parts of the country, who came together to take on a challenging, but rewarding experience.
“We will definitely take what we learned through our Empire experience into our next state season,” said Weathermax.
Added Wendell:
“We’ll be a better team next year because of it.”
Thank you for reading today’s story!
This is Part II of a two-part story on the Spring Leagues. If interested, here is Part 1 of the series: Spring Leagues Delivers on its Mission.
If you are a team that might want to register for next year’s Spring Leagues, or if you’d like to watch this year’s Championship Round, head to the Spring Leagues’ page here.
Are you looking for a fall competition? Applications are open for the fall 2023 Season. Learn more here.