Wins 4th Consumer Bowl in row

HAMILTON—Hightstown High School continued its mastery over Consumer Bowl opponents, winning Mercer County’s quiz-show style competition on good consumer practices for the fourth consecutive year.

Hightstown, which in 2017 went on to win the Central Regional and New Jersey State Consumer Bowl championships, narrowly defeated Nottingham High School in the finals of Mercer County’s seven-team, 2020 New Jersey High School Consumer Bowl on Feb. 14 at Stone Terrace in Hamilton.

This year’s Hightstown team was composed of Aayush Gupta, captain; Maanas Manoj, Curtis McCleish, Sonit Puri and Rithesh Rajasekar. The team’s adviser is teacher David Teleposky. Hightstown moves on to the Central Regional competition in Monmouth County in April.

The runner-up Nottingham team, under teacher/adviser Michael Bendorf, was composed of Magdely Diaz de Leon, captain; Chris Gonzalez, Ethan Pizarro, Anshil Shah, Nicole Pierce and Justin Wright.

Other schools that participated were Ewing High School, Hamilton High School West, Hopewell Valley Central High School, Lawrence High School and Steinert High School.

Mercer County’s annual Consumer Bowl competition is hosted by the Mercer County Division of Consumer Affairs, in conjunction with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, and tests students’ knowledge of the state’s consumer protection laws and regulations.

“I congratulate the Hightstown and Nottingham high school teams on their impressive performances this year, and applaud all the students for their desire to become more aware of the world around them,” Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes said. “Being an informed consumer helps you understand your rights and become an active participant in the buying process. Education is your best defense against consumer fraud.”

Melanie Hazim, NJ Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA) outreach director; and Jared O’Cone, DCA senior investigator, served as moderators for the Mercer County competition and Mercer County Consumer Affairs Chief John Worth served as referee. Judges were Joseph Armando, Mercer County Sheriff’s Office investigator; Assistant Prosecutor Rachel Cook; Mercer County Planning Director Leslie Floyd; Assistant County Counsel John Maloney; Undersheriff Jason Salvatore; Mercer County Business Advocate Darren Stewart; Andrew Tucker, special assistant to the director, DCA; and Walker Worthy, Mercer County Deputy Clerk. Rebecca Shaw, Mercer County Weights and Measures inspector; and Dulcelina Pena, DCA Consumer Bowl coordinator, served as scorekeepers, and Keith Williams, DCA Building Services staff, served as timekeeper.

The Consumer Bowl was created by the Mercer County Division of Consumer Affairs in 1994 as a way to encourage students to become smarter consumers, to be wary of scams and unfair business practices, and to be knowledgeable when obtaining services like home improvements or buying products such as vehicles or appliances. The Division of Consumer Affairs can be reached at (609) 989-6671.