Local Man Scores Personal Best in Teen Jeopardy

Adam Buxton of Lucan has reason to celebrate this evening. The 37 year old window cleaner and father of two achieved a new personal best high score Tuesday night while playing along at home with the popular game show ‘Jeopardy!’ Buxton totaled a score of $17400 after correctly answering the Final Jeopardy clue in the form of a question during Tuesday’s broadcast of the special ‘Teen Jeopardy’ edition.

Buxton, an avid Jeopardy fan, says he watches Jeopardy “four times a week at least – but I PVR them all" so he can catch all of the episodes. Buxton keeps track of his score and compares them to the competitors on the television.

Buxton says he has seen a vast increase in his scores during the last week, which he attributes to a switch in listening to classical music. “I had heard that listening to Mozart adds 10 points to your IQ so I picked up a CD from the Wal Mart bargain bin,” says Buxton. “I’ve seen a real spike in my scores since then.” The switch to classical music coincided with Jeopardy’s annual 2-week “Teenage Tournament’ in which Grade 7/8 students participate on the syndicated game show.

On the special night, Buxton says it was a tight battle between himself and real Jeopardy contestant Joseph Ackenburg, 13, of Louisville, Kentucky. Ackenburg finished with a score of $14000 according to Buxton’s at-home scoring “He was with me neck and neck until Final Jeopardy,” said Buxton. “I just got a little more aggressive with my wager than he did and it ended up paying off!”

Buxton also had nothing but kind words for the other contestants, 14 year old Brian Webster of Huntington Beach, CA and 13 year old Jenny Cardoza, of Corpus Cristi, TX. “That Webster kid had me scared until he faded a little in ‘Double Jeopardy’, said Buxton. “And that Jenny girl – well, she would have done real well if she hadn’t been up against such stiff competition! She really impressed me when she knew that Chuck Yeager was the first pilot to break the sound barrier!”

Buxton plans to treat himself to a box of Oreo cookies to celebrate his victory, and plans to defend his unofficial title of returning champion on tonight’s episode of “Teen Jeopardy”.