Arlington Heights teen advances on 'Jeopardy'

Going into Final Jeopardy on Tuesday, Selena Groh was in second place with $14,000 while the contestant in first place had $19,000.

The Final Jeopardy category was the 1889 World's Fair in Paris. Groh, gambling she might know the answer, put $6,000 on the line. And when she nailed it with, “What is the Eiffel Tower?” the Buffalo Grove High School senior came out on top by a slim margin and lives to move onto next week's semifinal round of the 2014 Jeopardy Teen Tournament.

The grand prize in the Teen Tournament is $75,000.

“It was a weird twist of fate that the final answer was about that,” Groh said Tuesday from her home in Arlington Heights. Just prior to the “Jeopardy” tapings in March she was reading “devil in the White City,” which focuses on the Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893 but also discusses the 1889 Paris fair.

Groh's next appearance on “Jeopardy” will be on Tuesday, July 29. The shows airs at 2:30 p.m. on WLS-ABC Channel 7.

Watching herself on TV is a fun experience, Groh said, especially surrounded by her friends and family. She is 17 years old, but was 16 when the shows were taped.

“They are so supportive. They were cheering like we were watching a sports game or something,” Groh said.

Although Groh was in third place after the first round on Tuesday's show, she said she wasn't worried.

“The whole time I just had adrenaline pumping. I was not giving up until the end,” she said. “It can really change around at any moment so I was just really focused on doing my best and playing the best I could.”

Since the competition is aimed at teenagers there are a few more pop culture categories added in, including one on slang words that teens would be more likely to know, such as “twerking.”

Groh said she has been surprised by the outpouring of support.

“I'm very thankful to everyone for being so supportive and excited for me,” said Groh, who also was celebrated for getting a perfect 36 on her ACT test, twice. “It's very humbling.”