A blundered Daily Double question threw Mesa Librarian Val Ontell into last place in a tight game of “Jeopardy” that aired in April.

Ontell, who has been Librarian in the LRC for over 16 years, was featured on Jeopardy on April 14, and came in third place, missing second by only $2 and the title of Jeopardy champion by an unfortunate memory lapse during a daily double question in the first round.

The clue was, “Located 35 miles from Louisville, it was named for America’s first Secretary of War.” Ontell’s answered, “What is… ooh… Fort Hamilton?”

“Half way through the question I knew it was Fort Knox, but by the time Alex (Trebek) had finished the question,” Ontell said, “It was gone.”

If she had answered that question correctly, she would have had an extra $2,000 to play with in Final Jeopardy.

Although the outcome of the game proved to be a bit disappointing, Ontell said that she really enjoyed the whole experience.

“In the long run it was fun,” Ontell said. “The [Jeopardy] staff are such wonderful people.”

Ontell decided to begin the rigorous testing that is involved for those who want try out for the game show, after years of convincing by her husband. She was one of only 400 people chosen to be on the show this year, after Jeopardy recruiters narrowed down over 76,000 applicants.

She said that she usually experiences stage fright but this paled in comparison to a much greater challenge – the button.

“The button is a bitch,” said Ontell. “You can’t buzz in until Alex is finished talking. At that point a person off-camera enables it.”

The trick is to be fast enough on the button, but not too fast because if you ring in early you are locked out for a quarter of a second, which as Ontell explained, is an eternity in Jeopardy.

By the time Final Jeopardy came around, the race was extremely close. The winner, Chris Zane, answered the question incorrectly; the other two contestants, Ontell and Eddie Gillan, who both went in to Final Jeopardy with $9,200, answered correctly.

“If I had that extra $2,000, I would have had enough to win.” Ontell said with a disappointed look on her face.

Ontell bet everything but $2 and Gillan bet everything, giving him a slight lead, but Zane only bet $1,000 of her $20,400. The final score was Zane, $19,400, Gillan, $18,400 and Ontell, $18,398.