Madison Academic Team Headed for TV

Students will compete Saturday on NBC's "It's Academic" (Photo Credit Albert Gunn)

Fri, 12/16/2011 – 10:00am | Vienna Patch Contributor Amanda Hamm

James Madison High School’s academic team will show off its quiz skills this Saturday on NBC’s “It’s Academic.”

The program is the longest-running television quiz show in the world, celebrating its 51st anniversary this year, it said on its website.

The Madison team typically competes on the show once a year, said coach Albert Gunn, but if they win the qualifying match, the team will go back to compete at semi-finals. A team can appear on the show up to four times in a year if they make it to finals. The Madison team won the district’s championship in the 1990s.

The first round will air Saturday morning. A regional competition takes place in January, in which teams compete within their high school’s normal district. Madison is part of the Liberty district and often competes against Langley and McLean.

This year’s team consists of coach Albert Gunn and students Alex Russell (captain, senior); John Nothaft (senior); and Patrick Hansen (senior). The two alternates are Sepehr Sobhani (senior) and Harry Hild (senior). Alex, Patrick and John are longtime members of the team.

The students who compete on the team also participate in other extracurricular activities: Russell runs track and plays on the tennis team; Nothaft is an accomplished musician, playing both the piano and organ. He also plays on the tennis team and in the orchestra. Hansen is the team’s math expert, as well as being an endurance athlete on the cross country team.

“’It’s Academic’ is a perfect application of the Jeopardy skills that Alex [Williams] and I practice on a weekly basis,” Hansen said. “Success in ‘It’s Academic’ competitions relies on a broad base of knowledge that ranges from Ancient World history, to Modern American Literature. Math Calculations are a special treat!”

Getting on the team requires a student who is interested in competing in an academic environment, Gunn said, but also those involved in school and local communities and can deal with the pressure of being in the public eye.

“It’s Academic is a truly enriching experience,” Sobhani said. “I learned the true value of competition because in It’s Academic, it is not enough to simply win, the opposition must be thoroughly demoralized in order to ensure victory.”

The first round begins at 11 a.m. Saturday on NBC 4. For more information on It’s Academic, visit their website.