'It's Academic!' team wins first-round competition

Blair's ‘It's Academic!' team defeated Gonzaga and Langley high schools in a first-round competition on November 10.

Seniors Cyrus Hadadi and Noah Grosfeld-Katz and junior Jared Sagoff represented Blair and scored 580 points to Langley's 430 and Gonzaga's 475. The team will return later in the season to play in the semifinal round.

The team led for most of the match but faltered slightly in the midgame. "We were down by fifty in the final round," Sagoff said, "but we had some great buzzes in the end."

Last year, the ‘It's Academic!' team was defeated in the semifinals. The team led the game until the final two questions, when Richard Montgomery pulled ahead.

Sagoff predicted that Blair will meet Quince Orchard High School in this year's semifinal match, and said "it'll probably be a good game. We should win, though."

Blair's JV cheerleading squad performed some short routines at the show, as did a spirited Langley supporter who called herself "Olga of the Volga."

The show will be aired January 5, 2002 at 10:00 a.m. on channel NBC-4.