Junior wins $100,000 grand prize in Jeopardy! College Championship

Yozamp with Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek after winning the 2010 College Championship. (Courtesy photo)

Junior Nick Yozamp, a biology major in Arts & Sciences, won the 2010 Jeopardy! College Championship and a $100,000 cash prize.

The St. Cloud, Minn., native emerged victorious after the two-week competition by outplaying 14 undergraduates from across the country. Yozamp is the first WUSTL student to win the title.

“I’ve watched hundreds of contestants being introduced on Jeopardy! from home, but to actually be one of those contestants was simply amazing,” Yozamp said. “Seeing Alex Trebek in person walk through the set’s glass doors and greet each of us was a moment that has been permanently etched in my mind.”

As for the cash prize, Yozamp plans on going to Nice, France, this summer as part of a study-abroad program. “My winnings will certainly pay for this trip,” he said. “I intend to save the rest of my earnings for medical school; the $100,000 will go a long way in paying for the tuition.”

Yozamp appeared on the finals of the popular television game show, which airs on KSDK-TV, Channel 5, at 3:30 p.m., on Feb. 11 and 12.

Yozamp had high praise for the show’s host. “Alex Trebek in person is almost exactly as he appears on television,” Yozamp said. “He is the consummate professional and is very well-spoken. He is also a very humorous guy — during the commercial breaks, he responds to questions from the studio audience and always has a wisecrack to tell.”

Three other WUSTL students have represented the university in Jeopardy! competitions: quarterfinalist Ericka Hayes in 1993, semifinalist Arianna Haut in 2002, and second runner-up Jayanth Iyengar in 2006.

Yozamp gets a lift Feb. 12 from his classmates, who gathered in the Danforth University Center to watch the competition with him. The show was taped earlier this year and Yozamp was sworn to secrecy over the outcome.