ARCHBALD, Pa. — Some of our area's best and brightest high school students got together on Monday for some friendly but intense competition.
The students told Newswatch 16 that the showdown in Lackawanna County is all in good fun, but bringing home the trophy is still the goal.
Points were scored, and you could hear a pin drop, but the competition was no less intense.
Teams representing 20 high schools gathered at the Northeast Intermediate Unit 19 in Archbald for the annual Academic Challenge.
After taking part in team projects, the schools then face off in a battle of wits—a trivia competition covering every topic imaginable.
"It's like the last question in Jeopardy. They ask you a question, and you have 15 seconds to write down an answer and show everyone your board and compete against everyone else," said competitor Collin Bailer of Forest City Regional High School.
Organizers say these kids work just as hard as any other high school team.
"They have practice after school just like an athletic event; this is just an academic event. They work hard all year, and we're very proud to host it here at the IU administration building," said NEIU 19 employee Mike Motsko.
The kids from Wallenpaupack Area High School are the returning champs looking to preserve their title and make a return trip to the state competition later this month. They take part in other trivia challenges throughout the year to prepare.
"I have never seen a group of individuals work so hard toward a common goal this year. And we lost WVIA pretty early, took that one on the chin, we all buckled down, and we've done a lot of prep work. It's nice to see it all come together today," said Wallenpaupack Area student Michael Soskil.
It's not all serious; they have a lot of fun, too.
"I just think it's good to know things about different topics and learn. It's a fun way to just gain knowledge," added Wallenpaupack senior Emma Mahone.
Wallenpaupack Area finished in first place. The team will represent the Northeast Intermediate 19 region in Harrisburg on April 21st.
Check out WNEP's YouTube channel.