Six Members of the Class of 2006 Are Champions of the 19th Annual Panasonic Academic Challenge

A Maryland state all-star team consisting of six members of the Montgomery County Public Schools Class of 2006 won the national championship at the 19th annual Panasonic Academic Challenge. The final round of the quiz bowl competition was played on June 13 at Disney World's Contemporary Resort, where Maryland defeated teams from Florida, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Tennessee in the six-team title game.

Championship team members are team captain Chris Ray (Richard Montgomery High School), Zach Klitzman (Walt Whitman High School), Rajib Quabili (Paint Branch High School), Alex Price (Walter Johnson High School), David Chen (Thomas S.Wootton High School), and Jeff Cao (Montgomery Blair High School). The players each won $2500 Panasonic scholarships and Herff Jones national championship rings.

The Panasonic Academic Challenge asks demanding questions across the curriculum, including literature, history, music, art, science, and advanced mathematics in an It's Academic-style format. Maryland went undefeated in the tournament by beating teams from Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee in the first round and teams from Connecticut, Wisconsin, and Tennessee in the semifinals.

The team was prepared by James Hubert Blake English teacher Joseph Caulfield, retired Mongomery Blair chemistry teacher Michael Kravitz, and Walter Johnson physics and astronomy teacher Mark Whipple.