BILLINGS — A Billings West High School graduate has made it onto a trivia show produced by Peyton Manning and his brothers. Craig Walker spoke to MTN News on what the experience was like and how his love for trivia came to be.
“This opportunity was just, you know, it was amazing,” said Billings native, Craig Walker on Thursday.
Walker graduated from West High in 2018 and is now attending college at BYU in Provo, Utah. Through BYU’s quiz team, he made it onto College Bowl, a trivia competition hosted by Peyton Manning and his brother Cooper.
“It was such a unique experience. I never anticipated I’d be on a game show really. It was something I thought would be really cool,” Walker said.
Walker said his love for trivia started at a young age when he and his family would watch Jeopardy every night. That love grew once he became part of West High’s academic team, which was at the time, led by his physics teacher, Maureen Ladd.
“She’s always had a lot of faith in me, especially from when she started this team when I was in high school, so I can attribute a lot of the competitive aspect and trivia to her,” Walker said.
When Walker sat down for this interview, he didn’t know I had recorded a message from his former teacher.
“Craig, you can do it, man. Believe in yourself, you’re a mental ninja, man,” Ladd exclaimed.
Walker was pleasantly surprised. And for Ladd, she’s ecstatic to see him on the big screen come Friday.
“He’s just one of those people that just draws people into him. His smile is so infectious and he’s just so joyful all the time. That he got to be on TV, I just think that’s so cool, I’m just so proud of him,” Ladd said.
You can catch Walker on the season two premiere of College Bowl on Friday night. And even though he’s in Utah, he’ll always call Billings home.
“I always miss Billings. I have a lot of pride in my hometown, I don’t know that everyone does, but I think Billings was such a great place to grow up,” Walker said.
