“The Challenge” MSG Varsity’s award winning quiz show, heads into the second round featuring a match-up between Mahwah High School and South Amboy High School airing at a new time, 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 3, 2012 on Cablevision’s iO TV, Channel 14. 

“We got off to a great start with so many close games in the first round and expect the competition to heat up as we head towards the Championship rounds,” said Theresa Chillianis, MSG Varsity’s General Manager. “We love the support displayed by the schools and communities as they vie for the Tri-State Championship.”

Back for his third 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 Mahwah team is represented by Kyle Dontoh, Sam Waxenbaum (Captain), William Peri, Stefan Vlahovic and Benjamin Berman (Alternate). The academic advisor is Christine Hartigan.

“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.  This season, 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 iO TV, 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.