Cape Elizabeth has been to the state finals four times in the last six years with a little help from some parental legal eagles.

Despite the fact that the Cape Elizabeth mock trial team lost to Hampden Academy in the state finals, the Cape kids are anything but disappointed.

They are excited to have fared so well competing against a team that they say practices two-hours-a-day, six-days-a-week, compared to their own three hours of practice a week.

Senior co-captain Carlin Gayer said that, although it would have been nice to win, she was satisfied with the outcome. “We did as well or better than we’ve ever done before,” she said.

Gayer participated in 2002 when Cape Elizabeth won the state championship. Cape’s mock trial team has been to the state finals four times in the last six years.

She said winning states was a thrill, but preparing for the national competition in the spring consumed all her free time. The intensity of the national competition was a fruitful experience, she said, but not her ideal way to spend the spring of her senior year.

“I almost couldn’t hope for a better way to end my senior mock-trial,” she said. “It ended on a really high note.”

Gayer, like a number of kids on Cape’s mock trial team, comes from a family of lawyers. Of the 41 registered lawyers living in Cape Elizabeth, eight of them have children on the mock trial high school team.

Of the 22 active members of the team, five have parents who are lawyers. Attorney coach Elaine Falender is Gayer’s mother and said lawyer parents benefited the kids in several ways: as a source of motivation and as an in-home coach.

Senior Carly Rapaport utilized her lawyer parents to the fullest, practicing with them at home on nearly a nightly basis, she said. Her dad, she said, “helped make things more realistic.”

Rapaport, like Gayer, is not mourning the loss to Hampden. “I was so impressed by how well we did,” she said. “They’re known as being a dominating force…we put in a sixth of the amount of the time that they did.”

Sophomore Libby Cummings said Hampden and Cape have different philosophies on competition. Winning, she said, is Hampden’s primary goal.

Teacher Coach Mary Page noted that Hampden is “somewhat of a dynasty.” She said there was a core of five skilled students from Hampden who participated in both rounds of the competition, whereas Cape utilized more of their 22 active members.

Cummings said the Cape kids enjoy practice, but the prospect of practicing six days a week in order to win was not appealing. “We don’t want to get sick of (mock trial),” said Cummings.

Cummings parents, both lawyers, also served as in-house motivators and coaches.

She said it was a plus having them as a resource. She sought their guidance and expert advice when organizing her arguments and dissecting the rules of evidence, she said.

However, having an expert at home, isn’t always easy, said Sophomore Bethany O’Meara. O’Meara, whose father Dick O’Meara is the second attorney coach for the team, said she has had her share of struggles.

“We kind of get into fights sometimes,” she said. “He’ll get on my case if I procrastinate too much.”

Ultimately, though, Cummings said that it is an advantage that her Dad is also her coach. “It’s nice to have someone to go to whether I’m at school or at home.”

In typical adolescent fashion, Gayer also struggled with her parent coach. As a freshman, she said, “It’s kind of embarrassing to have your parents around.”

Now, though, she values that time spent together. “I’ve just gotten busier and busier,” she said. “Mock trial is a time for us to talk.”

Cape senior Carly Rapaport (standing) submits a witness statement as evidence to the Hampden Academy’s defense team in last Thursday’s state mock trial competition. Cape lost to Hampden in the final round but were enthused to have done so well against a team considered a “dominant force,” said Rapaport.