See Who Won The ‘Jeopardy!’ High School Reunion Tournament
Justin Bolsen, a freshman-year student at Brown University, has walked away the Jeopardy! High School Reunion Tournament champion in the March 9 episode of the trivia game show. Following a two-day final, Bolsen came out ahead of Jackson Jones, a junior at Vanderbilt University, and Maya Wright, a senior at Emory University.
Alongside his champion status, Bolden won the grand prize of $100,000 and secured a spot in the next Tournament of Champions. Jones claimed $50,000 for second place, and Wright took home $25,000 for third.
“It feels really good,” said Bolsen. “It feels like all the Quiz Bowl stuff I’ve done, all the coaching I had – I had really great middle school and high school Quiz Bowl coaches – I owe a lot of this to them. I go to Brown, which is a really open, collaborative environment, so I had a lot of friends who helped me study too, which was nice.”
It was a close final round, with Bolsen edging out Jones by just $363, finishing with $35,561 and $35,198, respectively. Wright, who also placed third in her initial Jeopardy! appearance in the 2018 Teen Tournament, came out with $24,610.
The Final Jeopardy clue in the category of “Landmarks” was: “After its completion in the late 19th c., it was called a “truly tragic street lamp” & “high and skinny pyramid of iron ladders.”
The correct response was: What is the Eiffel Tower?
Since all three contestants answered correctly, it all came down to how much they were wagering, specifically Bolsen wagering enough to keep himself ahead of Jones.
Bolsen will return to the Alex Trebek Stage for the 2023 Tournament of Champions this fall. The 18-year-old will be the youngest player for Jeopardy!’s most prestigious and competitive event.
“It’s going to be crazy,” Bolsen said. “I think everybody knows that people who go on mega-streaks are really, really good, so I can only hope to do my best against them. We’ll see what they have in store for me.”
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