Who is Nikolas Polsinelli from Jeopardy? The Student With Perfect Latin Scores, a History Title and a Soccer Championship
Nikolas Polsinelli may be one of the younger contestants in Jeopardy! Season 43, but he arrived with years of competition experience.
The Winter Park, Florida student has succeeded in Latin and history competitions, played varsity soccer for a state championship program and begun studying at the University of Chicago.
His record of academic competition actually dates back to elementary school.
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Academic Competition Began in Fourth Grade
In 2017, while still a fourth grader, Polsinelli participated in a Future Problem Solving competition at the Orlando Science Center.
Students worked through a structured six-step problem-solving process centered on 3-D printing.
His team advanced to Florida’s state competition and won first place for its Presentation of Action Plan.
That early experience foreshadowed years of competitive academic activity.
Perfect Scores in Latin
At Trinity Preparatory School, Latin became one of Polsinelli’s standout subjects.
He achieved a perfect score on the introductory National Latin Exam in 2019 and earned another perfect-paper recognition in 2022.
He also competed through the Florida Junior Classical League, finishing second in the Empire 1/2 academic competition at the 2019 state convention.
His repeated achievements demonstrate sustained involvement with classical language and culture rather than a single strong test result.
A History Bee Champion
Polsinelli’s trivia credentials became even clearer in 2023.
Competing as a tenth grader at the Central Florida Winter History Bee, he recorded identical 14-point scores in all three preliminary rounds.
He went on to win the junior varsity championship and qualify for national and international history competitions.
Soccer, Service and Science
Alongside those academic achievements, Polsinelli played varsity soccer at Trinity Prep and was part of the program during its 2022–23 Florida Class 3A state championship season.
He also participated in community service through the Orlando branch of the Alliance of Youth Leaders in the United States.
After beginning at the University of Chicago in 2025, Polsinelli earned NASA ARSET certification in Fundamentals of Remote Sensing in June 2026.
From Latin and ancient history to satellites and soccer, his interests cover a remarkably wide range—the kind of breadth that naturally leads to the Jeopardy! stage.
