Teen fits definition of a vocabulary wiz BY MARY ANNE ROSS Correspondent Alex Silady There's a new game in town, and Alex Silady, 14, of Edison, could be its next national champion. The ninth-grader at John P. Stevens High School in Edison is one of six finalists from New Jersey in the first National Vocabulary Championship, a new competition for high-school-age students that tests their knowledge of definitions, antonyms and synonyms. Alex will be up against 49 other students from around the country. If he wins, he will walk off with the title of National Vocabulary Champion and a grand prize of $40,000 to be deposited in a savings plan designated for college expenses. The game-show-style contest will be held at the New York Public Library on March 5 and will be broadcast on cable television's Game Show Network (GSN) as a one-hour special April 15 at 8 p.m. Alex entered the competition after his mother heard about it while watching GSN. In October, he went to the vocabulary contest's Web site and took the preliminary test online. He was notified that he qualified for the second round and took a written test at the Princeton Review in Princeton. "It was probably one of the most challenging things I've ever done," he said. In January, Alex was notified that he would be one of six students representing New Jersey. "I was shocked, excited, stunned. I can't believe I made it to the finals," he said. The other New Jersey students are Matthew Chao, 16, of East Brunswick, Annie Ouyang, 17, of Holmdel, Daniel Thorn, 17, of Teaneck, Talia Lavin, 17, of Teaneck, and Lily Yu, 16, of West Windsor. Alex's mother, Martha, is excited about her son qualifying for the finals. "I'm really proud of him" she said. "He's the only freshman in the competition. Some of the kids are 19, and seniors. That's a real wide age difference." Alex is no stranger to competition or even television. He is on his school's academic team and was recently chosen to be a contestant on a game show called "Chain Reaction." He was one of three students playing against three English teachers from Chester. That show will be aired on GSN April 14. Most notably, Alex was on the TV program "Jeopardy!" when he was in the fifth grade. "He did really well until the Final Jeopardy round," his mother said. "The town passed a special resolution recognizing him for being on the show." Alex has been preparing daily for Monday's competition. "I go to Dictionary.com. They have a section called 'Word a Day,' and I study that," he said. He is also benefiting by learning Latin in school. "Many English words have Latin roots, so it helps," he said. Fittingly, Alex's favorite subject in school is English, and he likes to write. He is also part of his school's theater group. His mother thinks his outgoing personality and love of reading will serve him well in the contest. "He's always been fascinated with reading, even when he was little," Martha Silady said. "He's never afraid to try things, and now he's gone this far. If he does well, that's great, and if not, then it was an adventure." The National Vocabulary Championship is sponsored by GSN. More information about the competition can be found at www.winwithwords.com