Torres High student makes Madera Unified history with Mock Trial award at state competition

MADERA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Torres High School sophomore Eliana Cantu is gaining statewide recognition after competing against 30 of California's top Mock Trial teams.

Cantu, a member of the Torres High School Mock Trial team, was recognized at the recent state competition for her outstanding performance as a pretrial prosecutor - becoming the first student in Madera Unified School District history to receive the distinction.

"It was studying cases, understanding what those cases meant, applying them to our Constitution," Eliana said. "I had to have a very strong foundation on our constitution in general in order to bring it to the court and say, 'Hey, this is legal.'"

Each year, mock trial teams are assigned a fictional legal case to analyze and present in competition.

This year's case centered on a murder, with teams arguing both prosecution and defense perspectives.

As pretrial prosecutor, Cantu was tasked with persuading a judge that certain evidence should be admitted at trial while the defense attempted to exclude it.

"If this evidence doesn't get into trial, there's that really big piece that we're just missing from our story, that we're missing from our case, that we can't implement into our argument," she said.

The pretrial portion of the competition carries additional weight, worth double the points toward a team's overall score.

Torres High Mock Trial coach Simon Palacios said he had complete confidence in Cantu heading into the competition.

"When it's time for her to perform in anything she does, she is able to clear out her mind, take charge and meet the moment," Palacios said.

He added that her preparation stood out to judges.

"The judges they see, you know that she really understands legal precedents and arguing those things, and she's always rises above the occasion," he said.

At the conclusion of the state competition, judges presented individual awards to the two most outstanding pretrial attorneys - one for defense and one for prosecution. Cantu was selected as one of the honorees.

"And they said my name, and I was like, 'Me?' Like me? and I, like, jumped up," she said. "My whole team jumped up, and they started cheering."

Cantu said the experience has reaffirmed her plans to pursue a career in law.

"So just being able to have that real world experience, talk to judges and try to build actual case knowledge, it's really important," she said. "It's essential if I want to go into law."

Cantu plans to compete in Mock Trial again next year and said she is excited to continue developing her skills while watching the team grow.

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