Uniontown students win on quiz show
Three Uniontown Area High School students recently emerged victorious from a recent edition of KDKA’s Hometown High Q. Team captain Mike Tony, along with fellow senior students Melvin Lerch and Kyle Karwatski, attended an October taping of the television quiz show that tests high school students on their academic knowledge. The show aired Nov. 7.
The team competed against Indiana Area and Kiski Area high schools. The competition ended with a final score of Kiski, 300 points; Indiana, 330 points; and Uniontown scoring a whopping 560 points.
High school principal Thomas Colebank said the team managed to garner the highest score during the show’s current season. This achievement places the team in the show’s final round to be held in the spring.
“It was a landslide win,” said Karwatski.
The Uniontown audience, which consisted of participating students’ fellow classmates, teachers and parents, outshone other teams’ audience by its sheer size and cheers of support, Karwatski said.
Twenty to 25 people traveled to the television station’s Pittsburgh studio to serve in a live audience and show support for their team during the show’s half-hour taping. Teams were required to bring 10 people.
“It was great to have people cheer you on for something,” Karwatski said.
Karwatski and Lerch said they were surprised to see that the experience closely matched what viewers see on TV, including the time taken for commercial breaks and was taped within a half of an hour time. Team members also met Ken Rice, KDKA anchorman and host of the show.
Tony said many of the quiz show’s questions were common knowledge. Students answered questions in history, geography, science and mythology.
“It’s more about who knows it first,” he said.
This is the first Uniontown Area High School team that competed on the quiz show since 2007. That year, students failed to bring home a win.
Tony thanked gifted support teacher Jody Wells for helping Uniontown gain a spot on the show and for leading the team through several practice sessions to prepare for the competition.
“The experience was great,” said Tony, who regularly watches the show, gaining familiarity with its format.
He said he was confident in the team’s abilities and not at all nervous to appear on the show.
“We practiced a lot. We expected to do well,” Tony said.
Lerch called the quiz show fast-paced and filled with non-stop intensity. He encouraged people to tune (in the spring) in “to see how intelligent the students really are.”
“It was a great experience and I would love to do it again,” said Lerch.
The three students are members of the high school’s gifted support program and Academic League. Academic League students were tested to determine who would take part in the competition.
Karwatski, Lerch and Tony received the top scores of all test takers, earning a spot on the team. Alternates also were appointed to serve on the team, but did not need to serve in the competition.
Wells said she was proud of the students.
“We have such promise that’s not always accentuated,” said Wells.
The students think the competition will be fiercer in the spring, so Lerch said they plan to practice rigorously in order to prepare. Watching shows such as “Jeopardy” and “Cash Cab” also may help to boost their question-answering skills, Lerch said.
In addition to serving as captain of the team, Tony also heads up the local Scrabble Club, which meets at 6 p.m. every third Monday of the month in the Uniontown Public Library. He encouraged people from the community to attend a club meeting, promising “a meaningful 90 minutes of Scrabble and fun.”
Other school activities the students are involved in include the math team, the Science Olympiad, the debate team and the National Honor Society. Tony is involved in the marching and concert band and recently received notice that he will be awarded a National Merit Scholarship to help fund college expenses.
The exact date for this year’s spring finals has yet to be announced, said Colebank.