Glaring lights, loud cheerleaders and the beating rhythm of Whitman’s drumline—nothing could break seniors William Arnesen, Samuel Arnesen and Luke Rychlik’s concentration when they won the D.C. metro region and intercity finals of the quiz show “It’s Academic.”

Whitman’s team defeated Blake and Quince Orchard High School in the D.C. metro region finals, and Centennial and Robert E. Lee High School in intercity finals May 14 at NBC-4 Headquarters in D.C, winning $6,500 total in scholarship money from Giant Foods Inc., as well as a commemorative plaque and a silver trophy. Both competitions will air on NBC-4 July 25 at 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.

The matches began with a “speed round” where teams hit a buzzer to attempt to answer before their opponents. The following four rounds then alternated between rounds in which only one school responds to questions, and additional speed rounds.

“The competition’s very fast-paced, and there’s a lot of questions packed into a short period of time, so that increases the stress level,” Sam Arnesen said.

Whitman led in the regional finals; the final score had Whitman with 525 points, ahead of Blake’s score of 425 and Quince Orchard’s 350.

Shortly after the regional finals, filming for intercity finals began. The intercity finals was a tight match; competing against Robert E. Lee High School from Central Virginia and former intercity champion Centennial High School in Howard County, Whitman won by a slim 25-point margin.

The close competition kept many tense and attentive, including English teacher Danielle Fus.

“Something that stood out to me this round was how close the competition was, and how Luke, Sam and Will were able to use strategy to know when to buzz in,” Fus said.

The team values accuracy above speed: they always make sure they know the answer before buzzing, Sam Arnesen said.

Fus, who will coach the quiz bowl team next year, looks forward to sponsoring an activity that gives recognition to students with high academic achievements.

“I love seeing kids that you recognize as being smart in your class and being able to see them excel on this kind of platform, because we rarely recognize smart people, and this is a great way for them to be rewarded for their knowledge,” Fus said.

But when Fus and Sam were asked what their absolute favorite part of quiz bowl was, they both responded with the same answer.

“Winning.”