Annandale High School Graduate Wins Big on Jeopardy!

Roger Craig, a graduate of Annandale High School,  surpassed Ken Jennings as the highest one-day Jeopardy! winner on Sept. 14. The 33 year old earned a total of $77,000 in cash winnings, beating Jennings' six-year record of $75,000. On Sept. 15, his third day on the show, Craig increased his winning total to $138,401.

"Breaking Ken Jennings' record is simply amazing," said Craig after last Tuesday's show. "I knew that I had a chance to set the new record going into Final Jeopardy! so I thought what the heck—I'll go for it."

To earn the record, Craig correctly answered "What is, 'The Bridge on the River Kwai?'" to the question "The inspiration for this title object in a novel and a 1957 movie actually spanned the Mae Khlung River."

When asked about his playing strategy, Craig is quoted on the official Jeopardy! website saying; "I made a lot of big wagers on Daily Doubles. I was really confident in certain categories and took advantage of those opportunities to earn as much money as I could," said Craig. "I lucked out on my first game with a chemistry daily double. My undergrad degree is in biochem."

Craig is currently a graduate student at the University of Delaware working toward his Ph.D in computer science. He earned his bachelor's degrees in biology and biochemistry from Virginia Tech University. He also has a master's degree in computer science from the University of Delaware. It has been a dream of his since the 1980s to appear on the Jeopardy! He auditioned for the show three times before being selected.