Copley-Fairlawn grad reflects back on his five-day run on 'Jeopardy!'

Fame can be fleeting.

One minute you are on national TV, the next you are just another guy playing trivia at a local bar.

But for five nights, Ryan Manton was on center stage on "Jeopardy!".

His run on the TV quiz show ended sooner than he would have liked, but the experience was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing.

Manton, a 2011 graduate of Copley-Fairlawn schools, moved to Summit County with his family when he was 11.

He went off to Ohio State and has lived in Columbus ever since and now works as a systems administrator at Homeport.

Manton honed his "Jeopardy!" skills by participating in a trivia league.

"For the first episode, my wife threw a watch party at our regular bar trivia bar, and about 100 of our friends and family attended," Manton said. "Even though I do not like being the center of attention, it was a really special moment to share with so many people who were excited to support me."

His wife, Lauren, appeared on an episode of "Jeopardy!" back in February 2021.

"I proposed to her the night before she taped in December of 2020," he said. "Since it was filmed during the pandemic, I was unable to be at the studio with her, so I was rooting for her while sitting at LAX all day."

Even armed with this insider information, Manton said, he was still surprised during the tapings.

"It is shocking how fast it goes by," he said. "The show is basically shot in real time. There are small breaks during commercials where the contestants get to take their picture with Ken Jennings, get hair and makeup touched up.

"But start to finish is less than 30 minutes."

Things don't get more relaxed when you win.

"And then when you happen to win, you have about 10 minutes to change your outfit and catch your breath before you have to do it all again," he said. "Since my first episode aired on a Monday, all five of my episodes were shot in the same day."

Manton may get another shot at being on the show.

With four wins, he qualifies to be invited back for the next Tournament of Champions.

In the meantime, he plans to enjoy his anonymity and perhaps enjoy a bit of his winnings from the show.

"I am a huge Cleveland sports fan, so hopefully I will be able to buy some Guardians World Series tickets."

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Copley-Fairlawn grad reflects back on his five-day run on 'Jeopardy!'