Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) announced its school and student winners of the inaugural Financial Trivia Challenge presented by First National Bank, the largest subsidiary of F.N.B. Corporation, on Thursday afternoon. A total of 78 schools and 1,200 students competed in the challenge over 11,000 times, with the top three high schools and 20 students qualifying for monetary rewards.
South Park was the top participating school and receives a grant of $1,500, while Beaver student Isaac Valenzuela won the $500 monetary prize for the highest score among participating students.
“I am so incredibly proud of our South Park students for this academic achievement,” said South Park principal Justin Dellarose. “This is a testament to the way our students, teachers, staff, and administration strive for excellence each and every day. I would also like to thank the WPIAL and First National Bank for providing this opportunity to South Park and every school that participated.”
“I was so impressed by the drive and dedication of everyone involved to achieve this goal,” added South Park athletic director Patrick Colligan. “Those are characteristics that we hold in high regard at South Park, and they really shined through. Congratulations to all.”
“I learned a lot about finance thanks to this contest,” said Valenzuela. “It was a great opportunity for me to discover more about the world of finance and I’m very grateful for that. My plans are to put my knowledge into use for the future.”
Both school and student winners of the Financial Trivia Challenge will also receive recognition at the WPIAL Boys’ & Girls’ Basketball Championships at the Petersen Events Center on Feb. 29-March 2. High schools with the most participation and students with the highest scores qualified for reward money.
“Congrats to South Park High School and each of the students who participated for dedicating themselves to their financial education,” said Ronald Donatelli, president of First National Bank’s Pittsburgh Region. “The fundamentals these students learn today will provide an important foundation as they approach major financial milestones, such as paying for secondary education, beginning professional careers, or becoming homeowners.”
“Thank you to all the students who participated in the inaugural Financial Trivia Challenge,” added WPIAL executive director Scott Seltzer. “We appreciate First National Bank’s continual support of the WPIAL and their initiatives to further our students’ financial education.”
The top three high schools with the most participation were:
- South Park High School – $1,500
- Freeport High School – $1,000
- North Hills High School – $500
The top 20 students with the highest scores were:
- Isaac Valenzuela (Beaver HS) – $500
- Nya Reid (Valley HS) – $400
- Jayla Brown (Valley HS) – $250
- Melissa Pedder (Brownsville HS) – $250
- Aiden Iadanza (Charleroi HS) – $100
- Joshua Lanch (Avella HS) – $100
- Jessica Shaffer (South Park HS) – $100
- Derrick Anderson (Beaver Area HS) – $100
- Madeline Pfeufer (Keystone Oaks HS) – $100
- Maverick McCorkle (Freeport HS) – $100
- Tommy Hatcher (Carlynton HS) – $100
- Connor Gloer (Burrell HS) – $100
- Santino Baverso (Keystone Oaks HS) – $100
- Guadalupe Lara (Aliquippa HS) – $100
- Owen Garver (Fort Cherry HS) – $100
- Nico Fiordigigli (Charleroi HS) – $100
- Elizabeth Brooks (Blackhawk HS) – $100
- Shaula Solema (South Park HS) – $100
- Richard McCracken (Aliquippa HS) – $100
- Sydney Shock (Peters Township HS) – $100
The Financial Trivia Challenge was held from Oct. 25-Nov. 26, 2023. Participants had 90 seconds to answer as many financial-related trivia questions as possible. They could improve upon their score by participating as many times as they’d like, while comparing their results with others across the WPIAL on the leaderboard.
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