Marylanders on “Jeopardy!” for $2,400.

This Frederick nuclear engineer is a two-time “Jeopardy!” winner who appeared after applying for 12 years and joining an online trivia league that included Ken Jennings, the quiz show’s host and 74-game-winning champion.

Buzz!

Who is James Corson?

Correct!

Corson, 39, appeared on America’s favorite quiz show Friday, in the tournament of champions, but did not advance to the semifinals after a spelling error in the Final Jeopardy! round knocked him out of the game.

Corson started the game promisingly, ending the first round in second place with $4,200. He shined in the Why Not? Football! category.

He had a slow start in the second round but thrived in categories such as Teaching to the Test. One question was particularly fitting for him as a Marylander.

“Teaching to the Test for $1,200,” Corson said.

“Crab traps pose a threat to these salt marsh turtles,” Jennings read.

“What are terrapins,” Corson answered correctly.

He finished the second round in second place again with $11,000, but this lagged behind Ryan Sharpe’s lead of more than $24,000.

Could he come back?

Final Jeopardy! category: Notable Americans.

“Known in Mexican history as the sale of the Mesilla Valley, the 30,000-square-mile deal was negotiated by this U.S. diplomat,” Jennings read.

The answer: Who is Gadsden?

Corson’s answer: Who is Gasden? Gadsen?

“We cannot accept that. You never had both D’s at once,” Jennings said.

Corson wagered all $11,000, ending the game with $0.

Corson first appeared on the show in March. He won two games and finished in second place for his third, walking away with $73,800.

Prior to his first appearance, Corson studied four hours per day for over a month and received a lot of support from his wife, Holly Corson.

“She would go to the library with me, and we’d look for books on subjects I was not as good at,” he said. “She did a lot to help me prepare. She did a great job getting my outfits together, helping me look not terrible.”

Holly Corson and other friends were there to cheer him on the first go-round. She and a friend joined him for the tournament of champions.

Though there was little time to prepare, Corson leaned on the love of reading he developed as a child; LearnedLeague, an online trivia hub he’s been a part of for the last 10 years; and a new study tactic he picked up from other contestants: flash cards.

Corson admits he’d never been a flash card kind of guy — even in school — but he believes they were helpful in his preparation. He relied on lists, such as Oscar best picture winners, best books and archived “Jeopardy!” questions to improve his game.

One of his strongest categories is pop music, having a playlist that runs from Iron Maiden to Kendrick Lamar to Chappell Roan to Metallica. Corson also said he’s strong in sports, history and geography, something he might’ve picked up on trips with his wife.

“It probably helped a lot because you pick up a lot of different stuff when you’re traveling, things about different cultures, geography, nature,” he said. “Maybe that is another thing that’s helped me with trivia.”

Fittingly, the Final Jeopardy! clue that made Corson a winner: “Traveling in 1811 to an elevation of about 12,00 feet, Thomas Manning was the first Englishman to meet this figure.”

Already leading the pack with $29,000 and wagering an additional $13,000, Corson wrote: “Who is the Dalai Lama? (Love you Holly!!).” Corson won $42,000 and was declared a champion.

The Corsons are planning to use the “Jeopardy!” winnings to visit Australia, New Zealand and Fiji — which they were going to do anyway.

“This just means we can do it a little bit fancier than we would have,” Corson said.

Where he’s traveled recently isn’t too far. On Thursday, Corson joined fellow Maryland champion Jonathan Hugendubler at The Brass Tap in Baltimore to watch him compete.

The tournament of champions on “Jeopardy!” brings together 15 winners from the previous season who compete for a $250,000 grand prize.

Hugendubler, an adjunct professor and Baltimore trivia host, won $10,000 and advanced to the semifinals in the tournament on a Final Jeopardy! clue about biblical art. He first won in July, ending the previous champion’s two-week winning streak.

Hugendubler will return Tuesday to compete in the next round.

The Corsons traveled to southeastern Pennsylvania, where they grew up, Friday to watch “Jeopardy!” with friends and family.

This article has been updated.