Merrimack High School Wins Granite State Challenge Again
DURHAM, NH — Merrimack High defeated Plymouth Regional High for the second year in a row in the Granite State Challenge championship game. This was a record-breaking game: Both teams had three titles going into the game. Merrimack High School won the championship in 2020, 2021, and 2023, while Plymouth was champion in 1996, 2013, and 2019. This was also the seventh time in the final game for each of the teams.Playing for Merrimack High was captain and senior Kishan Sreenivasan joined by seniors Liam Clark and Trey Grant, and junior Erin Murray. The team alternates were junior Shelby Pennington and sophomore Avis Clever. Merrimack was coached by chemistry teacher Dr. Sara Campbell and Gifted and Talented Coordinator Sally Agel. For 2024, Merrimack defeated Belmont High School, the Academy for Science and Design, and Trinity High School on their way to the championship game. Playing for Plymouth Regional High were the team captain and junior Reagan Sutherland, and seniors Khalil Dakhlia, Paul Mason, and senior Ethan Savage. The team alternates were juniors, Norman Sackett and Max Shamansky. The coaches for the team were programming, drafting, and engineering teacher Jay Fogarty and Spanish teacher Troy Harris. Plymouth enrolls students from Plymouth, Ashland, Holderness, Campton, Rumney, Wentworth, Ellsworth, Waterville Valley, and Thornton. Plymouth Regional High defeated Newfound Regional High School, Nashua High School South, and Hopkinton High School on their way to the championship game. Round 1Sreenivasan of Merrimack led the scoring with correct answers to questions about the Beatles from GSC Superfan, James. He also scored on questions about the League of Women Voters, Ironman, Thomas Jefferson, Katy Perry, and actor and inventor, Hedy Lamarr. His teammate, Grant, picked up points on questions about the unit of measure used to determine the height of horses, the area of a triangle with a height of 5 inches and a base of 9 inches, the pancreas, and the ancient city of Alexandria. Clark picked up points on the civics question from 2024 NH Kid Governor, Ellie Livley, about who serves as governor in New Hampshire if the governor is indisposed, and a question about what the open-doored light utility vehicles used during World War II. Murray picked up another 10 points for the team on a question about the Carthaginian general who tried to invade Italy through the alps using elephants.On the Plymouth side, Sutherland picked up points on a question about the movie, "Singing in the Rain." Dakhlia answered questions about where you will find aglets, the Red Cross, and the Greek playwright Aristophanes, and Mason correctly identified Mitch McConnell as the Kentucky politician who became Senate Minority Leader in 2021.3 Strikes And You're Out RoundIn the Three Strikes and You're Out Round, each team picks a 10-question category and each team member, starting with the captain, gets one question. The team continues to answer questions until they miss three questions. Each team also has three passes in each round. If a team answers all 10 questions correctly, they pick up an additional 10 points. Clark picked up 30 points in the round, Murray picked up 20 points, and Grant and Sreenivasan each picked up 10 points, adding another 70 points to Merrimack's score. The team missed on questions about the Sesame Street muppet, Grover; the location of the Diamond Head volcanic cone; and Elton John. On the Plymouth side, Dakhlia, Mason, and Savage each answered two questions correctly, and Sutherland answered one question correctly. The team picked up 70 points, missing only on questions about Curious George's companion, the man in the yellow hat; NH author and illustrator Tomi DePaola, and Benjamin Franklin. 60 Second RoundIn the 60-Second Round, alternates join their teams. Each team picks a 10-question category and has 60 seconds to answer the questions. If they answer all ten correctly, teams get a 10-point bonus. Team members can confer in the round, but the captain answers.Plymouth chose the category "Wonders of the World." All of the answers in the category included or were related to the word Wonder. They answered nine questions correctly, missing only a question about the TV sitcom, "The Wonder Years." Merrimack picked the category "Brown Bag." All of the answers in the category included the word brown. The team answered eight questions correctly, missing only on a question about the wildflower, the brown-eyed Susan. The round ended with Merrimack in the lead by a score of 280-220.Final RoundIn the game's final round, each correct answer is worth 20 points, but teams lose 20 points with an incorrect answer, and a lead can be easily lost or gained in the round.The final round was rough on Plymouth, Merrimack picked up 260 points in the round on questions on everything from Tom Hanks, Bollywood and the Beach Boys to leatherback turtles and sloths. Plymouth was not able to keep up. They added 40 points to their score, and the game ended with a win for Merrimack, with a score of 540-260. This is the second consecutive Merrimack team championship and the fourth win since 2020. They won in 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024. They lost in 2022 to Portsmouth High.“We would like to congratulate the team from Merrimack on yet another incredible win. This remarkable achievement is the result of their continued hard work, determination, and extraordinary team spirit,” Unitil External Affairs Director Alec O’Meara, who had the honor of presenting the championship trophy, said. “The players on both teams were outstanding and should be proud of their accomplishments. ‘Granite State Challenge’ has a long history of bringing together the best and brightest young minds and we’re pleased to support this amazing program.” Susan Adams, the education manager at New Hampshire PBS and co-producer of “Granite State Challenge,” described Merrimack and Plymouth as “old hands” at playing in the show’s championship games. They faced off in 2020 and 2023, and both teams have won multiple championships; Merrimack won the title in 2020, 2021, and 2023 while Plymouth was the champion in 1996, 2013, and 2019. “The students on both teams take the game seriously and practice assiduously for the competition,” she said. “The coaches for both teams, Jay Fogarty and Troy Harris for Plymouth and Dr. Sara Campbell and Sally Agel for Merrimack put in untold hours of work behind the scenes to prepare their players for the games. We are so proud of the work of all of the teams and coaches from the 32 schools that participated in Granite State Challenge this year and look forward to another great season next year.” Hosted by Bow High School teacher and former Granite State Challenge coach (Bedford High), contestant (Belmont High), and Granite State Challenge crew member, Jon Cannon, Granite State Challenge features some of New Hampshire's brightest high school students as they demonstrate remarkable teamwork, quick thinking, and smarts to beat the clock and buzz in first on this iconic New Hampshire game show. The game emphasizes quick recall of math, science, social studies, language arts, and fine arts facts - along with questions about current events, entertainment, sports, and New Hampshire.You can follow your favorite team, test your knowledge with Granite State Challenge online quizzes, and more at the Granite State Challenge web page, or try your hands at daily brainteasers on the Granite State Challenge Facebook page.Granite State Challenge is funded by the lead sponsor Unitil, with additional funding from NEA New Hampshire, Safety Insurance, D.F. Richard Energy, and HRCU.Submitted by New Hampshire Public Television and Unitil.The article Merrimack High School Wins Granite State Challenge Again appeared first on Merrimack, NH Patch.
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