“And the answer is?”

The 2025 De La Salle Jeopardy Tournament is now complete. The competition, which began in January and concluded on March 3, drew 270 number of participants, over half of the student body

DLS Faculty member Mr. Thaier Mukhtar began the popular after-school activity in 1998, and said one year the event drew 660 students. 

Students compete on three-four man teams in either the upperclassmen or lowerclassmen divisions, and Mukhtar creates questions, varied in difficulty for each group. Competitions are after school, with four teams competing at the same time. The four top scoring teams are in the finals. 

In the lowerclassmen division, the freshmen team of Henry Griesbeck, Mike Tosch, Antonio Viviano, and Luciano Manion were the champions. Antonio said the group chose the Red Wings tickets as their prize, and they plan to be at the game on March 13, “next to the glass.” Antonio described the experience as a lot of fun, and said, “It was a cool thing to do.” 

The final Jeopardy for the lower classmen was how many NFL teams have a team name and nickname that start with the same letter. 

Other places in the division include

• Second Place: Aidan McDonald, Lucian Lindsay, Dante Lucci, and Dominic Baldarotta
• Third Place (tie): Kevin Erickson, Brandon Hargis, Grahams Tobin, and Tyler White
• Third Place (tie): Gavin Velicevic, Luke Lara, Greyson Sucaet, and Ari Moschouris

In the upperclassmen division, the senior team of Demetri Kourtakis, Jack Madigan, Colin Pullen, and Mason Christie were the champions and chose Prom tickets.

Other places in the division include

• Second Place (tie): Aidyn Bradt, Blake Matlock, Brady Matlock, and Ben Nunnold
• Second Place (tie): Nathan Vallelunga, Noah Dudus, Daniel Taylor, and Noah Hoenscheid
• Fourth Place: Charlie Wicker, Mark Gerardi, and Hayden Thimm

Senior Jack Madigan has played for three years, and got to the finals as a junior. His team from junior year stayed together for senior year. 

“It’s fun to compete against your friends,” Jack said. “And it’s fun to brag about winning.”

Senior Noah Dudus, who competed in Jeopardy all four years, said his group chose Tiger tickets. Noah was a division winner as a freshman. “I had a great experience, and though we lost on Final Jeopardy, that’s how it rolls.” 

The final Jeopardy question for that group asked which American President was the first to appear on TV.