A Harrisonburg High School graduate got the chance of a lifetime to appear on Tuesday night's college edition of Jeopardy.

Zach McDonnell competed against twelve thousand undergraduate students for slots in the championship. He was one of fifteen students nationwide selected to participate.

His mom said her favorite part was getting a behind the scenes tour of the Jeopardy set.

"Watching was pretty nerve-wracking, but it was definitely fun to be there in the studio and to see how things are done and to get the inside scoop on how the show is filmed. That sort of thing. It was definitely fun," said Zach's mom, Karen McDonnell.

Zach finished in third with $11,600. The college championship will air through Feb. 14th with a $100,000 grand prize. The show airs weeknights at 7:30 p.m. on TV-3.

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