Fair Lawn High School Competing in Cablevision Quiz Show

MSG Varsity's award-winning high school quiz show, The Challenge, kicks off its 14th season with all-star student scholars from competing against Manalapan High School. This first round match-up will air in high definition on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. on Cablevision's iO TV (Channel 14). 

MSG Varsity, Cablevision's television network dedicated to everything high school, will feature new episodes of The Challenge every Sunday through Friday at 5:30 p.m. Back for a second season as host of The Challenge is Jared Cotter, former FUSE TV host and a popular semi-finalist from American Idol.

Cotter will serve as moderator, asking competing high school teams questions based on their knowledge of history, arts and literature, current events, math, and science. This season, students will be taped competing before a live studio audience.

"We're thrilled to provide these students from Fair Lawn High School and Manalapan High School the opportunity to showcase their talent with their community," said Theresa Chillianis, General Manager, MSG Varsity. "The Challenge features some of the brightest students from across the tri-state area and we hope everyone will tune-in to see them compete for Tri-State Championship."

Representing Fair Lawn High School will be Alana Frenkel, Leo Gefter, Laura Newman, Eric Simeonglou (team captain), and Samantha Wyler. The academic advisor is Liliana Galinda.

The Challenge began as a Long Island effort 14 years ago and now includes 194 high schools from the entire tri-state area—Long Island (with Nassau and Suffolk as two distinct regions), the Bronx, Brooklyn, Westchester/Lower Hudson Valley, New Jersey and Connecticut. Schools advance in the tournament through a series of elimination rounds. After months of competition, one school in each region is crowned regional champion, winning $2,500 for their school. 

The final winning teams from each region go on to The Challenge championship, where they square off against on another in a Tri-State Showdown. The school crowned Tri-State Champion will receive $10,000 in prize money and each student participating in the championship game will receive $500.

The show has received a Beacon Award–the industry's highest award for public affairs excellence–as well as a New England Cable & Telecommunications (NECTA) Award for Public Service and Excellence in Cable Television.

A complete listing of schools participating in The Challenge is available at www.msgvarsity.com.