Rhinelander High School will be competing in the 34th annual Wisconsin High School Mock Trial Tournament in Madison, March 11-12.  RHS is one of 12 Regional Champions competing in the tournament. The other teams  are Shorewood, Brookfield Academy, Stratford, LaCrosse Central, Appleton Xavier, River Valley, Lodi, Middleton, Bay Port, Superior, and Franklin.

For the first time, all of the second-place finishers in the Regional Tournament will also be competing in the State Tournament.  These teams include D.C. Everest, Whitefish Bay, Wauwautosa West, Marshfield, Melrose-Mindoro, Appleton West, River Falls, Oregon, Beaver Dam, Stoughton, Green Bay East, and Christian Life.

Four rounds of semi-final competition will be held at the Dane County Courthouse Saturday. The rounds are power-paired, which means winners will go against winners, until ultimately the top two teams in the tournament are determined. The finalists will be announced at a Mock Trial Banquet Saturday evening and they will compete for the state title in the Supreme Court Hearing Room Sunday.

Four of the eight members of this year’s RHS team are returning from last year’s team, which placed second in the State Tournament. They are seniors Albiona Sabani, Ellie Rickman, Sydney Schallock and Max Holperin. New to the team this year are juniors Emily McFarland and Tyler Fredrick and freshmen Carmen Ibarra and Annika Timm.

Head coach is Kathy Vick-Martini and the attorney coaches are Amy Ferguson and Judge Michael Bloom.