ORLANDO, Fla., June 13 /PRNewswire/ -- An All-Star team of six students, representing the State of Maryland took home the top prize today in the 19th annual Panasonic Academic Challenge held at the Walt Disney World Resort. Second prize was awarded to an All-Star team of students representing Florida, and third place was awarded to Pennsylvania. The national tournament is widely recognized as the premier high school academic competition in the nation.
The team of six students -- Jeffrey Cao of Silver Spring, David Cheng of Rockville, Zachary Klitzman of Bethesda, Alexander Price of Bethesda, Rajib Quabili of Burtonville, and Christopher Ray of Rockville -- led by coaches Joseph Caulfield of Silver Spring, Mark Whipple of Bethesda and Michael Kravitz, defeated five teams representing the States of Florida, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia in this afternoon's national championship match. A total of 31 state and territory teams competed in the three-day tournament.
"Many of the brightest and most talented young minds in the country compete in the Panasonic Academic Challenge. It is quite a testament to the talent of these winning students, their schools and the great State of Maryland to be crowned the 2006 Panasonic Academic Challenge National Champions," said Peggy B. Harrod, tournament director.
The Panasonic Academic Challenge is modeled after Florida's state tournament. Unlike most quick response contests, the Panasonic Academic Challenge uses a slower-paced format in which as many as six teams at a time answer questions created by a panel of high school and college educators from around the nation. Subjects include mathematics, science, language arts, social studies, fine arts, foreign languages (French & Spanish) and technology.
One team of six students and a coach were selected to represent each U.S. state and territory at the event where the teams compete for more than $35,000 in academic scholarships and the title of Panasonic Academic Challenge National Champion. The method of team selection varies by state. States with existing state competitions send their championship school or an all-star team selected at the state competition. In some states, interested schools submit team profiles and the PAC tournament committee selects a state representative. The State of Virginia had won the last three titles in 2003, 2004 and 2005 before this year.
"On behalf of Panasonic, I congratulate our 2006 champions from Maryland," said Yoshi Yamada, Chairman and CEO, Panasonic Corporation of North America. "They have risen to the top of an elite field of very talented scholars from across the country. The 170 students that competed here this week are to be applauded for their efforts and accomplishments."
"Panasonic is deeply committed to education and we take great pride in our role as sponsor of the Panasonic Academic Challenge. The students that compete in this prestigious event represent the future of this nation and our world. We are honored to be a part of cultivating the educational development of young people."
Each member of this year's winning team (6 students and 1 coach) received a $2,500 scholarship funded by Panasonic. The national runner-up team members each received $1,500 and third place team members each received $500. The top three teams also received PAC Championship rings from Herff Jones Inc.
For complete results and more information on the Panasonic Academic Challenge, please visit http://www.academic-challenge.org/.
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