Lindenhurst HS Students Advance to Second Round of 'The Challenge'

students , (captain), Danielle Vozzo and Emily Crichton did Lindy proud on when they defeated students from Riverhead's McGann-Mercy High School by a score of 290 to 285.

They the of MSG Varsity's The Challenge, the academically focused TV show that airs on Cablevision’s iO TV Channel 14 where they'll take on students from .

The team also includes Allison Perna as the alternate, and is advised by teachers Mrs. Katsionis and Veronica Bruno.

The students started out strong on , cheered on by a host of Lindy supporters, including the Lindy's green man and the Lindy Bulldog (which was brought to life by LHS student Brian Williams).

They took the lead, 140 to 135, in the first round, which featured multiple choice questions in several categories.

In the lightning round the team appeared to lose its momentum, only scoring 15 points in the Horsing Around category, which featured clues about both real and fictional horses. It trailed at the end of the second round, 170 to 155.

When the show went to break after the third round - which featured questions in a variety of categories worth 10 points each and randomly placed bonus questions worth 10 points - Lindy still trailed 240 to 225.

However, when the show returned for the fourth and final round of questions, the score had been adjusted to 235 to 230, putting Lindy back in the lead.

The last round - called the Complete 180 Round, which featured questions in three questions in four categories, each worth 10, 15 and 20 points each - started, and Lindy traded the lead with McGann-Mercy.

The students answered questions first in the Religion category, then in Literature and Energy categories.

The last category - Social Media - kicked off with this question: In 2011 Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss agreed not to appeal to the Supreme Court over a settlement related to what social media company?

Lindenhurst answered the first question - open to either team - with the correct answer - Facebook - scoring another 10 points.

They answered the next question correctly for 15 points, and it came down to this question: At what university did Facebook first go online?

The Lindy team conferred, and answered, "Harvard."

"That's," Host Jared Cotter said with dramatic pause, "the correct answer."

The team erupted into smiles and hugs all around as the hometown Lindy crowd cheered.

"Congratulations to Lindenhurst, and they are our winners tonight. They advance to round two," said Cotter and former American Idol semi-finalist.

LHS is one of 192 high schools to compete for the title of Tri-State Champion on the MSG Varsity show, now in its 15th season, and is one of 32 schools from Suffolk County represented on the show this season.

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 participating student in the final Challenge Championship game will receive $500.

Competing student teams are tested on their knowledge of history, arts and literature, current events, math and science in front of a live studio audience.