Blazers defeat competition on "It's Academic"

Montgomery Blair High School triumphed on the Saturday, Jan. 8 airing of the high-school quiz show "It's Academic." The show, which was taped on Dec. 18, 2004, was the first episode of the season to air.

Seniors Saul Kinter and Martino Choi and junior Armin Rosen represented Blair's "It's Academic" team in front of the cameras. The show was a match between Blair, Thomas S. Wootton High School and Fairfax High School from Fairfax County Public Schools.

Also in attendance were Blair's cheerleading squad and Blair's marching band, conducted by drum major Gaston Jeanty and supervised by music teacher Dustin Doyle. Neither of the other schools were represented by their bands, nor their cheerleading squads.

"If [the squads] wanted to come, they could have," said "It's Academic" coach David Fantegrossi after the end of the taping.

The show is in its 44th season. A Dec. 20, 2004 press release from Altman Productions, Inc., the production company behind "It's Academic," said that Giant Foods, which sponsors the show, has awarded more than $2,400,000 in scholarship grants to contestants on the program over the years. "It's Academic” airs every Saturday at 10 a.m. on Channel 4.