KU student makes another 'Jeopardy!' appearance
Mark Petterson, a Kansas University senior from Prairie Village, competed Wednesday in the semifinal round of the "Jeopardy!" college championship tournament as a wildcard contestant. Enlarge video
Mark Petterson’s run in the “Jeopardy!” college championship ended in the semifinals after the airing of Wednesday’s show.
Though the Kansas University senior from Prairie Village performed well in the early rounds, amassing $11,600 after answering questions on topics ranging from “The Mentalist” to Carrie Nation, he lost most of his money in Final Jeopardy after he failed to correctly identify Thomas Jefferson and John Adams as two presidents who witnessed a balloon launch in France.
As a qualifying semifinalist, Petterson took home $10,000 in prize money from the show.
After the show aired Wednesday, Petterson said he intended to spend some of the money on a trip to South Africa to watch the upcoming World Cup soccer championship, and put the rest away for after graduation.
He said he enjoyed the experience, and that it was nice to gain some recognition.
“I never expected to go on a TV game show like Jeopardy,” he said.
Patrick Tucker, a student from Notre Dame, advanced to the final round over Petterson and Erica Greil from Princeton. Petterson earned a wild-card spot in the semifinals after qualifying as one of the top four non-winning money earners in last week’s preliminary rounds.
He earned $16,200 in that round, but lost to a student from the University of Missouri who advanced to the final earlier this week.
Petterson had a watch party at a local bar last week with friends and family, but a Spanish final precluded any similar event this time, he said.
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shadowbox66044 (anonymous) says…
Dude, I've never cheered so hard for someone on Jeopardy...ever! I so wanted to see a rematch with the mizzu chick. Oh well, good job Mark, you'll get em next time.
kaderast (anonymous) says…
Are you kidding me? What a bum. While all three contestants had recently spent time abroad, one gal was teaching poor grade school students in Rwanda, one guy was skimping by at one of the more impressive universities in the world, and the hippy from Lawrence was bumming around Europe sleeping in train stations, playing his guitar, and likely smoking a lot of pot. I guess that's a typical KU student though...
Coach_Eric (anonymous) says…
As opposed to those who spend their time trolling internet message boards looking to attack students.
autie (anonymous) says…
potpourri for 200, Alex.
jaywalker (anonymous) says…
Go harumph yourself, kaderast.
jaywalker (anonymous) says…
Anyone know a good pole removal service they can refer to kaderast? .
sloppyscience (anonymous) says…
I've always wondered why a college student can go on jeopardy and pocket 10 grand, but the world comes to an end if an athlete that trains year round for his or her sport that makes millions for other people gets the same.
The_Original_Bob (anonymous) says…
Sloppy -
Because Jeopardy is not a NCAA sanctioned sport.