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Team from Rockville High School Wins Metro Area 'It's Academic' Championship

May 17, 1999
Three students from Rockville High School led their school to victory in the "It's Academic" Washington metro championship against teams from Winston Churchill High School in Potomac and St. Albans in Washington D.C. A total of 81 Washington-area public and private schools participated in the 38th season of this high school academic quiz program over a period of 40 weeks.

Members of the winning Rockville team are team captain Aaron Benor, who will attend New York University in the fall, Matt Denio, who will attend Brown University, and junior Todd Hutner. Team alternates are Matt Malament and Daniel Maggin.

With the guidance of faculty advisors Kevin Keegan and Linda Mencarini, the Rockville High School "It's Academic" team reached the finals by defeating semifinalist teams from Montgomery Blair and Walter Johnson high schools. Richard Montgomery High School also placed among the highest performing schools this year, giving the school system five of the seven top finishers in the contest.

"It's Academic," broadcast weekly on WRC-TV Channel 4, tests knowledge on a wide variety of topics, mathematics reasoning, and ability to respond quickly and accurately. It was designed to provide young people with a showcase for their academic skills. Cheerleaders, school bands, faculty and parents who attend the contests provide an enthusiastic audience reminiscent of the support given to sporting events. High school students selected for their school's team train for matches as an extracurricular activity at their respective schools.

The Rockville team will now compete against winners from Virginia and the Baltimore area for the Superbowl Championship, which will air on WRC-TV, Channel 4, on June 26 at 7:00 p.m. The Washington metro area championship will be broadcast at 10 a.m. on the same day.

Montgomery Blair High School won the Superbowl Championship in 1995.

All "It's Academic" teams are awarded a $275 scholarship for participating, while winning teams earn additional scholarship money. Rockville's wins have garnered awards totaling $2,675. Scholarships are awarded to deserving students at the discretion of each school, not necessarily to team members.

Giant Food has sponsored "It's Academic" since 1967 and has donated more than $2 million dollars in scholarships during that time.

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