Somerville High School’s trivia team was recently taped on WGBH’s “High School Quiz Show.” The team was one of the top 16 in Massachusetts. Pictured from Left to Right: Graham Lessard-Brandt, RJ Bingham, Zoe Iacovino, John Iacovino, Celine Lessard-Brandt and Miles Bain.

By Cathleen Twardzik

Somerville High School’s trivia team recently made a comeback at WGBH’s High School Quiz Show. The team was one of the top 16 in Massachusetts.

The show was taped on January 26, and will air on March 3 at 6:30 p.m.

At the taping, Somerville competed against Lincoln-Sudbury in a “four-on-four” competition.

“Unfortunately, I can’t give [away] the outcome of our game because it doesn’t air on WGBH until March,” said Ted Blake, teacher in the social studies department at Somerville High School, as well as coach of the trivia team.

Blake, the founder of the team, completes the majority of the recruiting for it in his advanced placement U.S. History class.

The six-member team is comprised of Blake’s current or former students from that AP subject. However, all students at SHS are welcome to join trivia club.

This year’s Somerville team includes: Zoe Iacovino, senior, veteran of the team, and a founding member of trivia club. Miles Bain, junior, and Celine Lessard-Brandt, junior, are both returning for their second season on Quiz Show. To round it out, John Iacovino, sophomore, joined his elder sister on the team.

The team’s alternates are RJ Bingham, Junior, and Graham Lessard-Brandt, Sophomore.

All of the schools in Massachusetts may try their hand at a slot on the show. The 16 qualifying schools compete in a “single-elimination tournament.”  After that, the winning team competes against the winner of the Granite State Challenge, which is New Hampshire’s version of the quiz show.

It must be noted that Somerville qualified on November 4 at the show’s “Super Sunday” open tryout, at which time the SHS team triumphed over greater than 80 additional schools via a 100-question verbal trivia showdown. Finally, they won one of the 16 spots on High School Quiz Show.  The November event marked Somerville’s third attendance of “Super Sunday.”

High School Quiz Show is currently in its fourth season.

Last season, Somerville was defeated by Rockport High School, 375 to 280.

If Somerville prevails in the first-round against Lincoln-Sudbury, then it will snag another chance at WGBH on February 2. At that time, SHS would play the winner of the “matchup” between Advanced Math and Science Academy and Brookline.

Additional qualifying teams included: Wellesley, North Quincy, Lexington, Framingham, Needham, Acton-Boxborough, Rockport, Hingham, Chelmsford, Wachusett, Sharon and Hopkinton.