Hewlett High School senior wins $50,000 on the game show “Jeopardy!’

Hewlett High School senior, Alec Fischthal, of North Woodmere, competed in the “Jeopardy!” teen tournament last week and finished in second place. He won $50,000 in prize money.

Fischthal, 16, was one of 15 teenagers nationwide between 14 and 17 who were selected to compete in the quiz show where the answers are given first and the contestants respond in the form of a question.

He said he did not have any strategy other than playing his own game. “I didn’t want to play in a way that was that risky, so I was more focused on controlling the board,” Fischthal said.

After taking the online test in January, he was among 5,000 teens, out of the 30,000 who took the test, to audition in person in March. From there, the 15 contestants were selected. The show was taped in the second week of April at Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.
Fischthal and his fellow contestants were given a tour of the nation’s capital, while promotional footage and photographs were taken. “It was like nothing I’ve ever done before, but it was really cool,” he said.

Sharath Narayan, a sophomore at James Clemens High School in Madison, Ala., won the $100,000 grand prize. Michael Borecki, a junior at Darien High School in Conn., came in third place. He won $25,000.