Delco Teacher Wins $1K In 'Jeopardy!' Appearance

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — Delaware County was represented on "Jeopardy!" Wednesday night, as a local teacher vied to become the latest champion of the storied game show.

Wallingford-Swarthmore School District teacher Liz Asklar Cotrufello, of Broomall, appeared on Wednesday's program.

She was up against Sean Weatherston, a physical therapist from Nampa, Idaho and champion David Bederman, an attorney from Los Angeles.

Early in the game, Weatherston and Bederman took leads, while Cotrufello was unable to buzz in.

Halfway through the round, she was in the red with -$1,000.

At the end of the first round, she had $200 after answering four questions correctly but incorrectly answering another question.

Cotrufello had the first choice in the "Double Jeopardy!" round, as she was in third place.

But early in the round, six correct answers bumped her up to the lead with $7,400 over Bederman's $6,600 and Weatherston's $2,200.

However, after her sixth affirmative, she incorrectly answered a question, taking her back down to $5,400.

She then chose a "Daily Double" and wagered $1,600 of her $6,600 in a geology category.

And she nailed the question, putting her back in the lead with $8,200, with Bederman's score remaining the same and Weatherston at $4,200.

Bederman then got the second Daily Double of the round, and with a correct answer he retook the lead with $12,200 over Cotrufello's $11,000.

At the close of the Double Jeopardy round, Cotrufello was in second place with $12,200, ahead of Weatherston ($7,000) and just behind Bederman with $15,000.

Wednesday's "Final Jeopardy" category was famous paintings.

The clue:

A German guidebook to a 1937 World’s Fair dismissed it as a “hodgepodge of body parts that any four-year-old could have painted”

Unfortunately, Cotrufello did not answer correctly and wagered $2,801, giving her final total $9,399.

Weatherston and Bederman answered correctly, giving them final totals of $10,000 and $24,401, respectively.

The correct response: Guernica.

Cotrufello responded with Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2

She earned a $1,000 prize for her third place finish.