OBHS team competes on TV this weekend
All-girl team won first two rounds of quiz show contest
BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer

The Old Bridge High School team is seen on break from taping "The Challenge." From left are adviser Barbara Hauser, Grittney Tam, captain Neeraja Konuthula, host Bryan Jenkins, Dedeepya Konuthula, Nidhi Saraiya and Rutuparna Sarangi.

OLD BRIDGE - The academic team from Old Bridge High School is on a winning streak, having advanced to the third round of a televised quiz show.

The five-member team can be seen competing againstMonmouthAcademy in Round 3 of "The Challenge" on News 12 New Jersey at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The team is led in the "Jeopardy"-style competitions by its captain, Neeraja Konuthula, 18, her sister, Dedeepya, and Nidhi Saraiya, Grittney Tam and alternate member Rutuparna Sarangi. Its academic adviser is Barbara Hauser.

After the first round of competition, the team members decided to each study certain subjects, so that each member would have their own areas of expertise.

Neeraja, who will study bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia this fall and hopes to become a cardiac surgeon, chose to focus on geography and history as her areas of study, because she enjoys the subjects.

"I really like history and geography, but science is what I really want to go into," Neeraja said.

She noted that academic teams face random questions on the show that are not easy to prepare for.

Hauser noted that the questions are diverse and delve into topics like literature, government and culture.

"I couldn't even begin to explain how varied the questions are," Hauser said. "It is difficult to prepare for."

By splitting up the various disciplines among its members, the team was able to better prepare for the second and third rounds of competition.

"The team has to be well-rounded," Hauser said. "It's a team effort."

Hauser, who has taught English at the high school for seven years, noted that the team members make a significant sacrifice by studying for competitions, as they are taking a number of advanced placement courses in order to prepare for college. Some of them also have jobs, she added.

Old Bridge's team was launched last year, Neeraja said. While it has competed in online competitions against teams across the globe, "The Challenge" was its first time competing in person against other teams.

"This was really exciting, since it was our first real competition," she said.

Neeraja described the team's visit to a Princeton academic quiz bowl last year as "a new experience." The team did not compete there, since it was new team at the time.

Hauser said the team has limited funding, and therefore has not been as active as they would like.

"We are a fairly new group," she said. "We are not as active as some academic school teams may be. An academic team generally looks for as many competitions as they can afford to compete in."

Cablevision randomly selects the teams for "The Challenge," a tri-state competition that only a limited number of teams are lucky enough to participate in, Hauser said.

"They are selected by sheer luck," Hauser said, adding that the Old Bridge team was selected from hundreds of entries. The team has maintained its stay on the show by defeating two teams on the way to the third round.

While the competitive academic team is made up of only five members, the club has at least 40 students, holding meetings and simulating competitions, Hauser said. The members on the team are selected through a battery of tests. Those who score the highest make the team, Hauser added.

Several of the team members are seniors, so the others will have a chance to compete next year.

"We have a lot of talent waiting in the wings," Hauser said.

While Old Bridge High School's academic team is currently made up entirely of girls, the 48 teams at the Princeton event were predominantly made up of boys.

"In the entire day, we might have seen three or four other girls, not girls' teams," Hauser said. "I couldn't believe it."

The academic team went to New York City to film the competitions for "The Challenge," Hauser said. The teams are encouraged to bring a bus of student fans along with them.

"It was a great experience," she said.

"The Challenge" can also be viewed on the Web at www.powertolearn.com or on video-on-demand (VOD) through News 12 Interactive on iO TV channel 612.T

he winning team in each region will receive $2,500 and go on to compete in the Tri-State Championship, where each student who competes will receive $500.