Guess How Sharon High Did At WGBH Quiz Show

senior Nishanth Iyengar wants to be a cardio-thoracic surgeon.

Coincidentally, a school Quiz Show team that Iyengar is on has quickened some residents’ pulses.

Because the results of the team’s first-round WGBH High School Quiz Show playoff against North Middlesex High School are secret until 7 p.m. March 27, when WGBH-2 airs it.

The teams taped the fast-paced academic game show last Sunday in WGBH’s Brighton studio.

Before a packed studio audience of supporters, the students displayed their knowledge in core academic subjects, current events and trivia.

Sharon's team includes Iyengar, sophomores Matt Corman, Frank Zhou, Hari Anbarasu and Pittayut Phonboon and freshman Siddharth Singh. 

“Bottom line, it’s a great experience and a great opportunity for the kids,” coach Valerie Gundlah, a Sharon High Spanish teacher, said.

“Any time we can get them having fun while learning, it’s a good thing.”

After qualifying rounds and six playoff matches, the single-elimination tournament culminates with the Eastern Massachusetts championship, which will air on WGBH in May. The winners from Eastern and Western Mass. will face off in a statewide championship airing in June.

Sharon High Assistant Principal William Fish said the contest recognizes the town for “our rigorous curriculum throughout the Sharon public schools and its amazing teachers.”

“Rarely recognition is based on one’s aptitude,” Fish said, “and for myself and the staff, we enjoy seeing these students being recognized individually for their accomplishments.”

A few days before the match, the Sharon team members said they felt no pressure.

Rather, they said, winning would be a personal achievement, but losing would not be a major upset.

Team members said they prepared for the match using websites such as “quizbowl.com,” which carry the varied and highly specific factual questions found on the set of the Quiz Show tournament.  Last year’s standard High School Quiz Show questions are posted, and this year’s team said it found them useful practice.

Otherwise, their lives have not been much interrupted by their vault into the academic limelight. 

"I still have to go to soccer practice before the show,” Pittayut said.

However, preparation might not be the most important factor in the Sharon team’s success. 

“They are an incredibly talented and bright group of young men,” Fish said, also praising the “accuracy of their ability to answer such a diverse selection of questions from multiple disciplines.”

Major sponsorship for High School Quiz Show is provided by the Bank of America Charitable Foundation. Additional funding is provided by Safety Insurance, Comcast and Massachusetts Teachers Association.