Farmingdale Advances in MSG Varsity's “The Challenge”

Farmingdale High School has moved on to the Regional quarter-finals of MSG Varsity’s “The Challenge,” and will take on Massapequa High School next.

Farmingdale is joined by seven other schools from Nassau County as they head into regional quarter-final play while trying to qualify for the Tri-State Championship Playoffs.

The next round will be broadcast on Sunday, May 5, at 6:30 p.m. on Cablevision’s Optimum, Channel 14. 

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.  Cotter will serve as moderator, testing competing teams on their knowledge of history, arts and literature, current events, math, and science in front of a live studio audience.

“The action is really heating up as we progress to the final rounds of the Regional Championships,” said Cotter. “You can see the intensity of the player’s faces and excitement of the fans building as we move on in the competition.” 

The Farmingdale High School team is represented by: Nakul Grupta, Duncan McCloskey, Alexander Melton (Captain), Christopher Brandimarte, (Alternates) Katherine Gilleran and Michael Waldman. The academic advisor is Peter G. Macchia.

“The Challenge” includes 192 high schools from the entire tri-state area — Long Island (with Nassau and Suffolk as two distinct regions), the Bronx, Brooklyn, Westchester/Lower Hudson Valley, New Jersey and Connecticut.  Long Island will be represented by 32 high schools from Nassau County and 32 high schools from Suffolk County. A new match-up can been seen every Sunday through Friday at 6:30 pm, on MSG Varsity, Cablevision’s Optimum Channel 14.

Participating schools advance through a series of elimination rounds, with one school in each region being crowned regional champion and winning $2,500 for their school. 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,” please log onto www.msgvarsity.com.