Who is James Hill III?

By Brittany Benjamin

At 6:55 p.m., James Hill III stormed through the door, entering into a room lit only by a projection screen and the faces of over a hundred students who came to cheer him on.

"James is back!" yelled one of them as the rest of the crowd applauded.

Yes, Hill was back -- back for the Jeopardy! College Championship semifinals, which aired Monday at 7 p.m.

After breezing to a win in last Wednesday's quarter final over two Ivy League competitors, Hill qualified for the semifinal match.

After two rounds in Monday's showdown, Hill had a commanding lead over his two opponents, ahead by more than $5,000. It came down to the Final Jeopardy! question, which stumped Hill and lost him the game.

"It was fixed," came the jeers from the crowd as they filtered out of the Graham Hall 100 basement after the loss.

One student stopped to have Hill autograph his arm before leaving. "I'm never washing this arm again," he called while leaving.

For Hill, it marked the end of a week filled with good luck bids, signed autographs and Facebook fame.

"Facebook absolutely exploded," he said. "I think I had something like 109 notifications and 120 friend requests that I have to sort through at some point."

Hill, a freshman, jumped out to an early lead during the game, with a $2,000 lead after the first round over his competitors, Nick Yozamp, a junior at Washington University in St. Louis, and Samira Missaghi, a junior at the University of Minnesota. He hit his stride with categories like "Spott tha Mispeled Wurd" and "General Science," which he dominated. He headed into Final Jeopardy! with $16,000.

The game came down to the final clue: Owain Glyndwr, who died circa 1416, was the last native of his country to claim this title.

"Forest Whitaker is probably the only reason why I thought the King of Scotland," Hill joked about his incorrect response, saying he probably could have worked out the answer with more time.

Yozamp answered with "Prince of Wales," the correct answer. The accurate response and a hefty wager gave Yozamp the win.

Hill, who shared an armchair with his girlfriend at the front of the room for the show's screening, said he it was enough just to be able to watch the show with a crowd of friends around him. The Graham basement was standing room only, with students trickling in throughout the show.

"I'm very happy with how I played," Hill said. "It was an unforgettable experience."

Watching himself on television, Hill said his voice sounded weird. Yet, it was knowing the results that drove him crazy. He said he often wanted to tell friends the outcome as they wished him good luck.

The semifinalist signed non-disclosure agreements stipulating he would not tell anybody about the shows' outcomes. He was, however, allowed to tell his family and closest friends.

Shortly after finishing filming, he told his girlfriend, freshman Amy Bernstein, he won in the first show. He also told her that he didn't win the whole championship, purposely keeping his explanations vague.

"It was really exciting to see him on TV," Bernstein said, adding that Hill will mention trivia in casual conversation because he knows countless random facts. "Stuff like that doesn't really happen to anyone."

He even started a competitive trivia team at his high school, Bellarmine College Preparatory. He also finished second in the Santa Clara Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader? competition this year.

Although he ultimately finished in second place with a total of $10,399 after the match, James will receive $10,000 for making the semifinals, the same amount all other semifinalists received.

Meanwhile, Hill is already plotting his next trivia show appearance. Since he was told he could not apply for Jeopardy! again until Alex Trebek is no longer host, Hill has set his sights on other shows -- at least until Trebek retires.

"I told my mom for years, before I got on Jeopardy! that when I hit 18, I was going to register to vote and register for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" said Hill, who turns 18 in June. "Who knows? Maybe this time next year I'll be in the hot seat."

Contact Brittany Benjamin at BRBenjamin@scu.edu or (408) 554-4546.