I watched with Rachel Rothenberg and her family and friends as Rachel won the “Teen Jeopardy Tournament.” The championship show aired Friday.

A viewing party was held at the Rothenberg’s home in Pittsburgh.

When I asked Rachel how she felt after watching the show, she said, "I feel really overwhelmed. I feel like I might have to sit down for a little bit."

Rachel won $75,000. She is donating 20 percent of it to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and her church. She plans to put the rest of the money towards college and Christmas presents.

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Video Of Viewing Party
Pictures Of Viewing Party
Video Of Rachel Before The Show Aired
Pictures Of Rachel, Her Family

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Rachel taped the show back in August and never let the cat out of the bag. She’s happy that she can now talk about her success on the show.

"It feels really good. I felt bad telling people, 'Just watch the show. Wait and you'll see,'" said Rachel.

Rachel’s family and friends surprised Rachel at the party with a cake, signs and T-shirts.

"One of our friends got these great 'City of Champions' T-shirts, which is cool. It has been a great year in Pittsburgh with the Steelers, Penguins and now Rachel. We are just proud to be a part of Pittsburgh," said Susan, Rachel's mom.

A couple weeks ago, before the first show featuring Rachel aired, I visited the Rothenberg home. The high school senior animatedly told me about her trip to California.

“I’ve been to Los Angeles before, but I haven’t seen all of it, so we took a tour and saw the movie studios. That was pretty cool,” said Rachel.

Susan made the trip with her. While they got to be tourists for one day, the two spent most of their days in the Golden State on the “Jeopardy” set.

“She said she was very nervous, but she never showed how nervous she was,” said Susan. It seemed to me that Susan was more nervous than Rachel. My mom would have been the same way.

Rachel told me, prior to leaving for Los Angeles, she was most anxious about answering sports questions, especially sports other than hockey and football. She also hoped for no math categories.

Rachel felt confident that she would do well in literature and theater categories. There was a theater category on the show that aired Thursday, and she zipped right through it.

Rachel’s brother David hopes to be on a game show too someday. His favorite is “Wheel of Fortune.” And, he has been practicing. David told me he plays game show video games with his sister. Rachel usually wins, but she has some years on him.

Rachel is a writing major at CAPA. She writes for the school paper and is the editor of a literary magazine.

From success in school to on a television show, Rachel is on a roll this year.

“Rachel is a great kid. She’s fun to be with. She has a lot of friends,” said her dad Mitchell.

Congratulations Rachel! We’re proud that the Teen Jeopardy Tournament winner is from Pittsburgh.