A Frankfort junior high teacher who made it into the Jeopardy! Teachers Tournament was eliminated in the first round when he appeared on a recent episode of the popular game show.
Steven Evenhouse, an eighth grade social studies teacher at Summit Hill Jr. High, was in the lead after the first round of Jeopardy!, but on Feb. 16 he ended the game in third place following a few wrong answers. After Final Jeopardy!, he had $3,000, while a teacher from Omaha won a spot in the tournament’s semi-finals with $13,700.
“I’m happy with how I did,” he said Feb. 16 after the show aired. “There will always be some woulda, shoulda, couldsa, but overall I’m happy with how I did.”
The episode featured a clip of Evenhouse’s students wishing him luck from the bleachers at Summit Hill Jr. High, and he also had a chance to talk a little about his work as a badminton coach.
During introductions, the show’s announcer said Evenhouse enjoys teaching because it gives him a captive audience for his bad jokes. Host Alex Trebek responded by saying, “Steven, if you want a captive audience for bad jokes, you should become a television quiz show host.”
The 32-year-old Orland Hills resident said he has been trying to win a spot on the show for more than 10 years and in October he finally got an invitation for the Teachers Tournament. He spent five days in Los Angeles preparing for and recording the show with the other 14 tournament teachers in January.
“Hanging out with the other contestants was great,” he said.
While he looked calm and collected during the episode, he said he was the opposite of relaxed while on stage.
“The heart rate was definitely way up,” he said. “I kind of calmed down once the actual game started, but it was definitely one of the more nerve-racking experiences that I’ve had.”
After returning from the once-in-a-lifetime experience, Evenhouse wasn’t able to talk about the results or tell anyone how he ranked during the tournament. On Feb. 16, he said it was nice to finally let his friends and family know how he did and to put an end to the speculation.
“A lot of people assumed I won and I was just dying to cut that story down,” he said.
Still, after applying to be a contestant on the show for more than 10 years, Evenhouse said it is tough to accept the fact that it’s over now.
“There’s no going back,” he said. “You don’t get a second chance, so that right there makes it kind of tough to swallow.”
Summit Hill Jr. High Principal Beth Lind said the school was buzzing with anticipation Feb. 16 ahead of the 3:30 p.m. airing.
“It’s phenomenal because he’s a very well-liked and well-respected teacher,” she said.
Contestants eliminated in the first round still take home a $5,000 prize and a classroom Jeopardy! unit for their schools. The Teachers Tournament continues through Feb. 28 and the grand prize winner will take home $100,000.
On the Feb. 16 episode, the Final Jeopardy! category was People In History, and the clue was: “The name of this assassin is Latin for heavy, dull, insensitive, oafish.” The answer was Brutus. All three contestants answered incorrectly.
