WARREN, Mich. - For 23 consecutive years, De La Salle Collegiate social studies teacher Thaier Mukhtar has conducted the school’s annual Jeopardy tournament. 
 
The 2020 version of the popular event drew in 340 students on 85 teams in two divisions: upperclassmen and lowerclassmen. The one-game elimination tournament spanned two months - beginning Jan. 7 - with finals hitting Tuesday and Wednesday. Mukhtar also hosts a one-day Jeopardy challenge for faculty and staff, which was held Feb. 14.
 

Mukhtar, who composes all the questions, and is De La Salle’s own version on trivia show host Alex Trebek says one year 660 students competed, an incredible number for an after-school activity.  
 
Mukhtar says his interest in history and trivia propelled him to create the tournament. He spends hours over Christmas break writing questions on index cards, in categories of history, science, sports, religion, movies, and more. He prepares easier questions for the freshmen and sophomores. 
 
Students, as well as faculty, try to strategically structure their teams to optimize their chances of answering questions. Prizes include tickets for school events, such as the prom, all-night party or homecoming, for sporting events, and even parking spaces for the next school year. 
 
“I enjoy seeing how much fun the kids have,” Mukhtar said. “And I tell losing teams, ‘It’s like the Detroit Lions. Wait until next year.’ ”
 
Juniors Brent Charrette, Suheum Heo, Jake Scicluna, and Masen Schaefer took the upperclassmen championship and chose Lions tickets for next season.
 

Sophomores Gavin Grzywacz, Luke Jolet, Max Chandzel, and Maxwell Mulenkamp won the underclassmen finals and elected to take 2020 Homecoming Dance tickets as their prize.
 
Mukhtar also enjoys the faculty challenge, with 25 teachers competing on five teams. 
 
This year’s winning team of Dave Slusser, Shelley Slusser, Mike Jolly, Steve Schypinski, and Brother Ken Kalinowski unseated two-time champions Chris Dean, Mike Szczegielniak, Kate Zelmanski-Maitoza, John Hicks, and Ron Barger (who replaced game-day scratch John Berlin).