Samohi Student Loses in 'Jeopardy' Teen Tournament

senior Carlee Jensen was eliminated from the Jeopardy Teen Tournament on Wednesday night after losing in a quarterfinals round. Jensen finished the contest with $8,800, well short of the winning amount, $24,200.

Even though she didn't get to start off the game, Jensen began strong nonetheless. By the first commercial break, she led her competitors—Raynell Cooper of Rockville, MD, and Erin Hart of Benton Harbor, MI—with $3,200.

Jensen nailed the Daily Double, successfully providing the correct question ("What is The Scarlet Letter?") to the answer, "Chapter 5 of this classic novel is 'Hester at Her Needle.' " She finished the first round tied with Hart at $4,400.

In the Double Jeopardy Round, Jensen became relatively quiet and fell behind. While she didn't provide too many incorrect questions, she didn't chime in often enough, allowing her competitors to pull ahead. By the end of the Double Jeopardy Round, Jensen still had $4,400, far short of Hart's $18,700 and Cooper's $14,400.

American literature was revealed to be the subject of the Final Jeopardy Round. The answer was, "He wrote, 'The hellish tattoo of the heart increased. It grew quicker and quicker and louder and louder every instant.' "

Host Alex Trebek went first to Jensen, who gave the correct question: "Who is Edgar Allan Poe?" But, alas, so did her competitors, both of whom advanced to the semifinals.

During the interview segment, Jensen revealed a promise she had made to a co-worker before getting involved with the tournament. Due to a scheduling conflict, in order to participate in the audition, "I needed to get one of my co-workers to cover my shift for me," she said. In return, she told the co-worker, "If I win big money, I'll buy you a new car."

The winner of the tournament will receive $75,000, which prompted Trebek to joke that the car would have to be small.

"A toy car," Jensen said, joking along.