By Marley Seaman
Leon, a Herald youth columnist, was captain of the team, which was advised by Karen Scheff and also included Jeffrey Ritholtz, Boris Kalendarev, Ike Levine and alternate Karen Kessler.
The team's episode aired on Nov. 18 and 19. It was part of the first round of the Challenge, an academic quiz show tournament that is in its tenth year. The tournament will continue through June, when this season's champion will be crowned. This year, the winner of the Nassau-Suffolk match will take on the winners from New Jersey and Connecticut to determine the first tri-state champion. Individual games includes three rounds.
The HANC team competes against other schools in the Yeshiva League throughout the year. Members also watched old Long Island Challenge episodes, practicing in different formats. That left the squad well-prepared for its televised appearance. The team specialized, with different members serving as experts on different topics, including English, mathematics, history and sports.
"Initially, I was really nervous," said Leon, detailing the backstage atmosphere. "They pull us into this side room and they powder our faces, and we fill out questionnaires about ourselves. We knew who we were playing at that point, but we didn't know how smart they were and they were sitting right next to us, so we were trying to size them up. We were joking around and trying to keep our cool."
At game time, Leon said he immediately relaxed. The HANC team did well in topics relating to history and fiction, and took the lead early in the game. Friends pulled off a perfect run in fantasy fiction.
"They got every single one in that category," said Leon.
With the score tied at 205, the entire game came down to the free response section. The HANC team answered a math question incorrectly, losing ten points and giving the win to Friends.
Despite the tough-luck loss, Leon said he has positive memories of the experience.
"There [were] 40 kids from our school in the audience," Leon said of his view from the stage. "It was funny to look out and see a bunch of my friends and my teachers sitting there watching."
Comments about this story? MSeaman@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 205.
