West Essex High School Moves to 4th Round of 'The Challenge'

West Essex High School's continued success on MSG Varsity’s “The Challenge" will put to the test this week.

Students from West Essex High School will compete Friday as they move on to the fourth round to face Randolph High School at 6:30 p.m. on Cablevision’s Optimum, Ch. 14.

The local high school will join five other schools from New Jersey and try to qualify for the Tri-State Championship Playoffs.

 “The Challenge” tests competing students on their knowledge of history, arts and literature, current events, math, and science in front of a live studio audience. A total of 192 high schools from the entire tri-state area entered the competition. A new match-up can been seen Sunday through Friday at 6:30 pm on MSG Varsity, Cablevision’s Optimum Ch. 14.  

The West Essex team is represented by: Jerry Groome, Ben Gersten, captain Tom Haversang, Erik Maher, and alternatives Michael Caggiano and MarkMascera. The academic advisers are C.J. Rauch and Caroline Blanchard.

Back for his fourth season as host of “The Challenge” is Jared Cotter, host of “MSG Varsity’s Talent Show” and a popular semi-finalist from "American Idol."

Participating schools advance through a series of elimination rounds, with one school in each region being crowned regional champion and winning $2,500.

The winning teams from each region go on to “The Challenge” Championship where they square off in a Tri-State Showdown. The school awarded the title of Tri-State Champion will receive $10,000 in prize money and each student participating in the final “Challenge” Championship game will receive $500.

For more information on “The Challenge,” go to www.msgvarsity.com.