Episodes to air April 30-May 11

CULVER CITY, CALIF. (April 23, 2012) – Beginning Monday, April 30, “Jeopardy!” will feature 15 of the nation’s sharpest students competing for a $75,000 grand prize in the Teen Tournament, a perennial fan favorite. This year’s competitors were selected from over 20,000 students who applied for a spot in the elite tournament. 

The first week of the tournament was taped on the “Jeopardy!” stage at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, Calif.  The nine semi-finalists are moving on to Washington, D.C. to compete in front of an audience of thousands at DAR Constitution Hall.   

The following have been selected to compete:

NAME                                       AGE                             HOMETOWN
Krishna Bharathala                      15                                Fremont, Calif.
Catherine Briley                           17                                Grand Prairie, La.
Evan Eschliman                          16                                Olathe, Kan.
Morgan Flood                              17                                Pequea, Pa.
Gabriela Gonzales                       17                                Winston-Salem, N.C.
Ben Greenho                               17                                Plano, Texas
Jeff Haylon                                  15                                Newtown, Conn.
Sam Leanza                                17                                Laguna Hills, Calif.
Elyse Mancuso                            16                                Omaha, Neb.
Anshika Niraj                               16                                Beachwood, Ohio
Caleb Olson                                17                                Chariton, Iowa
Rose Schaefer                            16                                Portland, Ore.
Rob Schrader                              17                                Lexington, Ky.
Eliza Scruton                              16                                Louisville, Ky.
Kevin  Yang                                16                                Birmingham, Ala.

The second place winner will earn $25,000 and third place $15,000.  Semifinalists receive $10,000, and contestants eliminated in the first round receive $5,000.

“Jeopardy!,” the winner of a 2012 Peabody award and 29 Emmy awards, including the 2011 Emmy for Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Program, was inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records for the most awards won by a TV Game Show. The series is the #1-rated quiz show in syndication with 25 million viewers each week.  “Jeopardy!” is produced by Sony Pictures Television, a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company. It is distributed domestically by CBS Television Distribution and internationally by CBS Television International, both units of CBS Corp. 

###