Students to compete in quiz show finals

Students from Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale will face off Sunday night against White Plains High School in the final round of the Cablevision quiz show "The Challenge."

The match will air on MSG Varsity -- Cablevision's 24-hour network for high school sports, academics, performing arts and other activities -- at 8. Tonight's victorious team will be named the 2011 Tri-State Challenge Champion and its school will receive $10,000. The students in the match will take home $500 each.

This is the second consecutive year that Kellenberg has reached the finals. Last year, Kellenberg lost the championship match to Horace Greeley High School of Chappaqua.

Theresa Chillianis, MSG Varsity's general manager, said students train all year to participate in competitions like "The Challenge," though her network's games are of particular interest because they are televised.

"The kids take this very seriously," she said. "It's a very exciting atmosphere. Being successful in this is about having diverse knowledge on a variety of topics."

The network has aired episodes of the program every Sunday through Friday at 5:30 p.m. Participants are quizzed on everything from history to arts and literature, current events, math and science.

The two teams competing in tonight's match have worked their way through multiple rounds of competition. White Plains beat out North Shore High School, and Kellenberg trumped Bellport High School in the semifinals, which aired Thursday and Friday.

"The Challenge" began 14 years ago with students on Long Island and has since expanded to include students from 184 schools in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Westchester/Lower Hudson Valley, New Jersey and Connecticut.