This week on the Granite State Challenge Championship, Merrimack High School takes on Plymouth Regional High School.

Only one team will win.

Granite State challenge starts now.

Major funding for the production of Granite State challenge is provided by UNITIL.

Additional funding provided by NEA New Hampshire, Safety Insurance, The New Hampshire Lottery, D.F.

Richard Energy, Cognia, HRCU and viewers like you.

Thank you.

Get ready.

It's time for New Hampshire high schools to match with in a high stakes scholastic showdown.

It's time for granite State challenge.

Here's your host, Jon Cannon.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Granite State Challenge Championship.

We started with a whole lot of teams.

We narrowed the field down to 16 and we've got two teams here to do battle to take home the championship.

And this is what they are playing for.

They have fought hard.

They've won three games each.

And now it all comes down to this.

We've got Merrimack High School and we've got Plymouth Regional High School here.

Let's introduce you to the players.

First up, we've got Jack.

He is the captain of the Merrimack squad.

And Jack has a very interesting career ambition.

And that is.

Yes.

I want to be the host of the next host of Granite State challenge.

Okay.

So you have told me this before and I have said this and I mean this sincerely.

I want everyone to know this.

Nothing would make me happier than if that was the case.

So good luck.

It's going to be a while.

All right.

Jack is joined by Rainier and Rainier was on a recent boat trip.

And what happened in the middle of the night?

We get ended up in a crash on a cruise ship.

We were on the cruise ship with the cruise ship crashed.

What did it crash in to a commercial fishing boat?

But everyone was okay.

You were okay?

Yep.

Everyone was okay.

It was a couple of hours out of sleep.

All right.

Not so bad, hopefully.

All right.

Rainier is joined by Aris who is in chemistry, A.P.

chemistry this year and had a pretty fun, exciting, terrifying experience.

Tell us.

Yeah, so I got to use 18 sulfuric acid to react with some magnesium to get rid of it, because my coach, who is also my chemistry teacher, didn't want it there.

So then it formed magnesium chloride and hydrogen gas.

It's fun.

But you were safe?

Yes.

Okay, good.

Good to hear it.

Aris is joined by Alli.

Alli is a senior who also had an encounter in the water, but not with a boat, but witha a.

With a shark.

Okay.

Where was this?

So I was swimming in the Outer Banks with my family and about ten feet behind, one of my cousins, Fin popped up and we got out of there very quickly.

Okay.

So many terrifying encounters.

But all of you are fine, which makes me happy.

Also makes the rest of the team happy.

And that includes alternates Keyshawn, Liam and Trey, as well as the coaches Sara Campbell and Sally Eagle.

And they are the team from Merrimack High School.

And facing off against them in the championship is the team from Plymouth Regional High School.

They're led by senior Captain Dash, who over COVID did what some of us do and made a play list.

Tell us about yours.

Yes.

So going into it, I wanted to compile a bunch of my favorite oldies songs, so I called it the oldies playlist.

However, it quickly devolved into just tracking my music taste over time.

Okay.

So it started with like Fly Me to the Moon, Frank Sinatra.

Sure, then went to Brandy by looking Glass, and then one of my friend's favorite combinations of songs on it is Mistletoe by Justin Bieber immediately followed up by Womp.

There it is.

Okay.

So that that spans quite the decades, doesn't it?

Big, big difference among all.

Awesome.

Well Dash is joined by Khalil.

Khalil is a junior and is also a music fan and the top .001% of listeners explain to me this.

So I am in the top .001% of listeners for a K-Pop group called BTS which means that I listen to more BTS than 99.99% of people on Earth.

On earth.

Well done.

That is that is quite the accomplishment.

Quite the goal.

Natalie, a different set of goals.

Natalie is a senior joins the team here.

She runs cross country and not just runs cross country, but I'm also a captain.

You are all also the captain.

So how did you become the captain?

Did your team vote you in?

Did your coach choose you?

Yeah.

So I was voted in junior year and senior year.

So I was a captain for two years.

Right?

Two years returning captain.

All right.

You're going to miss it.

Yes, I will.

I bet.

I bet.

And rounding out the team is Trevor, also a senior who has a collection of coins.

A collection of coins.

This is really cool.

How'd you get into this?

My grandparents.

My great grandparents used to get me, like, coins for Christmas or my birthday, and it just started from there.

And you're going to continue to keep doing it?

Yeah.

All right.

Everywhere you go, sort of get some new coins to the collection.

Yeah.

Awesome.

Well, keep that collection growing.

The team alternates are senior Jason and sophomore Reagan.

The coaches are Jay Fogarty and Troy Harris and they're the team from Plymouth Regional High School.

And one more introduction.

And that is, of course, with us all season long.

Our judge Ann Boulanger.

All right, teams introductions are out of the way.

Go ahead and grab those devices.

It's time to play the game.

We're going to start in round one.

And as you know, in round one, we do ten point toss up questions.

So Merrimack, Plymouth, good luck.

Here we go.

This could be a dance or a type of dot.

Ranier of Merrimack.

So I. Plymouth.

Khalil.

Polka.

The Polka?

Yeah.

While often confused with Apollo, this member of the Pantheon of Greek mythology is the true sun God Rainier of Merrimack.

Helios?

Yes.

The seed of this tree native to Iran and surrounding areas is not a true nut but it might bring you joy when found in a chocolate covered coconut candy.

Khalil of Plymouth Almond.

Yes, you have probably heard the Republican Party referred to as the GOP.

What does GOP stand for?

Alli of Merrimack Grand Old Party Right.

In 1964, 22 year old Cassius Clay defeated Sonny Liston to become the heavyweight champion of the world.

Clay would later changed his name to this jack of Merrimack.

Muhammad Ali.

Yes.

Comedian Carol Leifer was not only a writer for this classic TV sitcom, she was also the inspiration for the character Elaine Benes in the series Natalie of Plymouth.

Seinfeld.

Yes.

In 2018, this team, which won five World Series championships in the 20th century, became the first team to win four World Series championships in the 21st century.

Khalil of Plymouth, the Red Sox.

That's right.

Peggy Fleming was the only American to bring home a gold medal in the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble.

In what sport did she medal?

Khalil of Plymouth, Ice skating.

I need to be more specific.

Figure skating.

Correct.

In 1977, she became the first woman to qualify and compete in the in the Indianapolis and Daytona five hundreds.

Trevor of Plymouth.

Danica Patrick.

Sorry.

No.

Before Danica Patrick was Janet Guthrie.

All right, teams, go ahead and take it here.

Take a look at your monitors for the next question.

These small owls live in underground burrows.

They dig or in burrows, they take over from ground squirrels, prairie dogs or desert tortoises.

Rainier of Merrimack.

Burrowing Owl.

Correct.

Before he played for the Philadelphia Warriors, the 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers.

This seven foot one center played for the Kansas Jayhawks and the Harlem Globetrotters in 1962.

He scored 100 points in a game between the Warriors and the Knicks, a single game record scoring record that stands today.

Trevor of Plymouth Chamberlain.

Wilt Chamberlain.

You bet.

This animated character was first introduced in the 1940 cartoon Wild Hair.

Khalil of Plymouth, Bugs Bunny.

That's right.

This Indian leader and peace proponent was assassinated on January 30th, 1948 by Hindu nationalists.

Nathuram Vinayak Godse Trevor of Plymouth.

Gandhi.

I need first name.

Mahatma Gandhi.

Yes.

We'll take that.

The first Winter Olympics were held in 1924 in Chamonix in this country, Aris of Merrimack, France.

That's right.

The working title of this Jane Austen novel about Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy was first impressions.

Alli of Merrimack, Pride and Prejudice.

Yes.

All right.

We have come to our Unitl power question, which, you know, is worth double the point.

So a 20 point toss up question.

Coming to you live from Alec O'Meara of Unitl.

Take it away, Alec.

Thanks, John.

And since this is a power question, the answer will be related to a character with superpowers.

The teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles first appeared in a comic book created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird in 1984.

In this New Hampshire city, Rainier of Merrimack.

Dover.

Is that right, Alec O'Meara.

All right.

Excellent.

Thank you so much, Alec.

And thank you to Unitl.

Teams.

What is the area of a circle with a radius of one inch to the nearest 100th?

Khalil of Plymouth 3.14.

Yes.

All this Exeter, New Hampshire natives first novel setting free the Bears was published in 1968 and was about the attempt of two characters, Graf and Siggy, to set all of the animals in the Vienna Zoo free Khalil of Plymouth.

J.D.

Salinger.

Sorry, no Merrimack Aris?

John Irving That is right.

And that sound ends the round it.

Hey, wouldn't you know it tied up at the end of round one.

Well, that's just how we like it teams We're going to roll right into round two and round two is our three strikes and you're out round.

You know how it goes.

We go down the line, ten questions per team until you answer them all or three strikes and you're out.

You have three passes and the inspiration for each question can be found in the question before it.

We will start with Merrimack.

Jack, this is your question.

This Italian sculptor and painter is known for painting scenes from the Bible on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

Michelangelo Yes.

Reinier You will find Michelangelo's statue of the biblical figure David in the Galleria Dell'accademia in this city, in the Tuscany region of Italy.

Pass.

Pass Aris?

Florence Yes, Alli.

Florence Henderson played the mother on this sitcom about a blended family of three boys and three girls with hair of gold.

The youngest one had curls.

I don't know.

It is the Brady Bunch, Jack.

White House Press Secretary James Brady was seriously injured in an assassination attempt on this US president in 1981.

Ronald Reagan.

Correct.

Rainier Linda Blair played Reagan.

Theresa MacNeil, a young girl possessed by a demon in this 1971 movie, The Exorcist.

Yes.

Aris, Tony Blair was the prime minister of this country from 1997 to 2007.

Pass.

Alli, your question.

Pass.

All right.

Third pass to Jack, the United Kingdom, correct.

Rainier.

This member of the British royal family who wrote a book titled Spare in 2023, is better known by this name, Philip.

It is Prince Harry.

Aris, Harry Potter was gifted with a snowy owl named this on his 11th birthday.

Hedwig.

Yes, Alli, this actor won a Tony for lead actor in a musical for his performance in the 2014 musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

He also played Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother and Count Olaf in a series of unfortunate events.

Neil Patrick Harris.

Right.

And Jack Neil Gaiman is the author of the novels American Gods and Coraline, and this comic book series about the seven endless destiny, death, desire, despair, delirium, destruction and dream.

American Gods.

It is the Sandman.

That's your third strike.

But that's also the end of your three strikes round.

All right, Plymouth, we turn to you.

Same drill, Dash, we'll start with you.

This is your question.

This director is best known for directing dark and gothic movies like Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Pass Pass.

Tim Burton.

Tim Burton is right.

Natalie.

So, Trevor, this is your question.

LeVar Burton is known as the host of Reading Rainbow and for his roles as Kunta Kinte in the miniseries.

Roots and Geordi La Forge, the engineer on this starship in the series, Star Trek, Star Trek, The Next Generation, the Enterprise, correct.

Dash before they changed their name to Jefferson Starship, this psychedelic rock band fronted by Grace Slick, was known by this name that still took off, just not beyond the bonds of Earth.

Dead Kennedys No, Jefferson Airplane, Khalil, Thomas Jefferson's first vice president, Aaron Burr shot and killed this man, Alexander Hamilton.

Yes, Natalie.

Lin-Manuel Miranda was inspired to write the musical Hamilton after reading a 2004 biography of Hamilton by this author.

Oh, gosh.

Chernow.

Correct.

Yes, Trevor.

Ron DeSantis was elected the 46th governor of this state in 2019.

No answer.

It is Florida Dash.

This national park at the southern tip of Florida consists of 1.5 million square acres of tropical wetlands.

Everglades?

Yes.

Khalil Katniss Everdeen is played by this actor in The Hunger Games movies.

Pass.

Jennifer Lawrence.

Jennifer Lawrence is right, Trevor.

Friar Lawrence is a character in this Tale of Love Gone Wrong by William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Correct Dash.

William Shakespeare was born in this English town.

Stratford upon Avon.

That is right.

And that is the end of your three strikes round.

All right.

So at the end of the round, still a very tight match.

So as we go into round three, I'd like to invite two alternates from each team to join their teams up at the podiums as we go into our 60 second round.

In our 60 second round, each team gets ten questions in a category.

They get to work as a team and we take the captain's answer as the team answer and Merrimack as a team trailing right now.

Jack, you and your team get to choose from these categories.

One name, animal habitats and tip of the hats.

One name, one name, please.

One name.

Okay.

The answers to the following will all be musicians known by a single name.

Jack.

I'll take your answer as the team answer.

60 seconds.

Start the clock.

She asked you to say her name when she was with Destiny's Child.

Beyonce?

Yes.

She sang with her husband, Sonny Cher.

Yes.

He was the king of rock.

Elvis.

Yes.

He sang about a raspberry beret in a little red Corvette Prince.

Yes.

She claimed we were living in a material world.

Madonna.

Yes.

She claimed her love could stand under her umbrella.

Rihanna Yes.

She was rolling in the deep in a 2011 Estelle.

Yes.

His first album to Apocalypse Now, was released in 1991.

Tupac.

Yes.

Considered the queen of Tejano music.

She was murdered in 1995.

Selena.

Yes.

His birth name is Marshall Mathers.

He has also been called Eminem.

That is correct.

And is that a ten out of ten?

Well done.

Ten out of ten on your 60 second round.

Great job, Merrimack, Plymouth.

It's up to you now.

You could choose from animal habitats or tip of the hat.

Tip of the hat.

Tip of the hat.

It will be okay.

You could talk to your team.

I'll take your answer as the team answer.

And the answers to the following will be related to hats.

60 seconds.

Start the clock.

This tall president is famous for Abraham Lincoln.

Yes.

This English detective is known for his Sherlock Holmes.

Yes.

This is the French word for hat.

Chapeau.

Yes.

You might have a bee in one of these when you're obsessed with something.

Bonnet.

Yes.

This would tell you what house.

Your sorting hat.

Sorting hat.

Yes.

Thank you.

Curious George's human buddy wore one of these.

Man in the Yellow Hat.

Yes.

He wears a red one, trimmed with white fur in the pompom.

Oh, Santa.

Santa.

Yes, he put a feather in his cap and called it macaroni.

Yankee Doodle.

Yes.

Charles Mingus wrote a jazz instrumental about a hat name for this meat pastry.

I don't know.

Tasty.

Sorry.

Is pork pie.

Pork pie?

He wreaks havoc on a rainy day in Sally's house.

Cat in the Hat.

Cat in the Hat is right.

Is that nine out of ten?

Nine out of ten on your 60 second round.

Great round teams.

Strong rounds, alternates.

Thank you so much.

You can go ahead and take your seats as we head into our fourth and final round.

As a reminder teams, we pick back up with our toss up questions.

We're going to double the point value of these questions.

20 point toss ups, but we will be deducting 20 points for incorrect responses.

So tight game play smart.

Good luck, both teams.

Here we go.

For our first question, take a look at your monitors.

The work the work you are looking at is called View of Toledo.

It was painted between 1599 and 1600 by Greek painter Domenikos.

Theotokopoulos, who is better known by this name, Rainier of Merrimack.

El Greco.

Yes, it's a better name.

Only two letters are not used in abbreviations on the periodic table.

Name either one of them.

Aris of Merrimack, Z.

Sorry, no.

Plymouth Dash Q Q is one of them.

J Is the other one.

This title, the title for this novel by John Steinbeck, featuring migrant workers George Milton and Lennie Small, is taken from a line in the Robert Burns poem to a mouse dash of Plymouth of Mice and Men.

Yes.

What is the larval stage of butterflies and moths commonly known as Dash of Plymouth Chrysalis?

Sorry, no.

Merrimack, Rainier.

Caterpillar.

That's right.

Inventor Margaret E Knight received a patent in 1871 for a machine that would create flat bottom.

That one's of these paper products is paper bags.

How about that?

This English musician had hits with both the Beatles and the band Wings.

Aris of Merrimack.

Paul McCartney.

Yes.

All right, Teams, our next question is coming to you on your monitors.

It's a science question.

So take a look.

Hi, my name is Tiffany and I am from the New Hampshire Science Teachers Association.

And I have a science question for you.

Before she wrote Silent Spring in 1962, this marine biologist won a National Book Award for her 1951 book, The Sea Around US Aris of Merrimack.

Rachel Carson Yes.

In 2002, the Next Generation Space Telescope was renamed this to honor the man who headed NASA up from 1961 to 1968 is the James Webb Telescope.

English composer Gustav Holst's Orchestral Suite.

The Planets was written between 1914 and 1917.

It includes seven movements, one for all of the eight planets, except for this one.

Aris of Merrimack.

Earth.

Yes.

Caroline Herschel, the younger sister of astronomer John Herschel, who discovered the planet Uranus, was an astronomer in her own right.

35P/Herschel-Rigollet is named for her.

What is 35P/Herschel-Rigollet?

Khalil of Plymouth.

Star.

Sorry, No.

It is a comet.

Alfred Tennyson wrote a poem about this disastrous cavalry advance at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War.

Dash of Plymouth.

Charge of the Light Brigade.

Yes.

All right, teams, another question coming to you from a special NHPBS guest on your monitors.

Take a look.

Hello, I'm Rebecca Rule, host of our hometown.

The author of Catcher in the Rye, J.D.

Salinger lived in this New Hampshire town in Sullivan County from 1953 until his death in 2010.

Khalil of Plymouth.

Cornish.

Is right.

British guitarist Tony lommi was one of the co-founders of this heavy metal band that was fronted by Ozzy Osborne.

Jack of Merrimack.

Black Sabbath.

Yes.

This French fashion designer is believed to have collaborated with the Germans in occupied Vichy France.

Aris of Merrimack.

Chanel, Yes.

Coco Chanel.

In 1931, this aviator was elected the first president of the 99th International Organization of Women Pilots.

Khalil of Plymouth.

Amelia Earhart.

Correct.

After reading the Jules Verne novel Around the World in 80 Days.

This reporter, known for immersing herself in her stories, decided to see if she could do an around the world trip in under 80 days.

In 1890, she set a world record and completed that trip in 72 days.

Trevor of Plymouth, Nellie Bly.

Yes.

Film director and producer David O. Selznick is known for two of the films listed in the top ten of the American Film Institute's 100 Years.

100 movies list.

Both movies were produced in 1939.

One movie featured Southern Belle, Scarlett O'Hara, and the other film featured Midwestern farm girl Dorothy Gale.

Named the two films Trevor of Plymouth, Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz.

Yes, parquet floors are made with small slats of wood laid in repeating patterns.

This NBA teams home court has a parquet floor because there was a lumber shortage in 1946 when the first floor was built.

Alli of Merrimack.

The Celtics.

That's right.

Who was president when British troops invaded Washington, D.C. and burned the US Capitol in the president's mansion in 1814.

Rainier of Merrimack.

Madison?

Yes.

In 1777, this16 year old girl rode 40 miles to warn colonial militia forces in New York that the British were coming to burn Danbury, Connecticut.

Aris of Merrimack.

Sybil Ludington.

Yes.

Five US Presidents served in the Union Army before the Civil War.

Name any one of them.

Dash of Plymouth.

Ulysses S Grant.

He is one of them, Yes.

Nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, she was the first female justice on the US Supreme Court.

Jack of Merrimack.

Sandra Day O'Connor?

Yes.

In 1990, Douglas Wilder became the first elected black governor when he became governor of this state.

Dash of Plymouth, Mississippi.

Sorry, no.

It is Virginia.

This former Air National Guard lieutenant colonel and pilot who has served as a US senator from Illinois since 2017?

Sorry, we're not going to get to the end of that question.

And it looks like our champions this year is the team from Merrimack High School.

Congratulations, Merrimack.

And now I'd like to toss it over to Unitil's Alec O'Meara for the presentation of the runners up and championship trophies.

Alec.

Thanks, John.

I'm once again so proud to be able to be here on behalf of Unitl and celebrate these high achievers.

This is a great competition.

Two real heavyweights of the competition.

Coach, congratulations on yet another deep run.

I feel like I always see you here.

Can you tell me a little bit about this season and your kids and what makes this team special?

Absolutely.

This is just a wonderful group of kids.

We couldn't have done it without the breadth of knowledge of our Co-Coach Troy Harris and we play against our faculty often to prepare.

So I'd like to thank them.

And our principal really backs things up, and I'm just happy to get to play a great match against a team like Merrimack.

And that was just incredible.

And thank you, Unitil for helping support this incredible competition.

Here's some more hardware for you folks.

I'm pleased to give you this runner up trophy.

Thank you.

And here we are with Merrimack.

This wasn't planned, but I do feel like I forgot my bow tie here.

Congratulations on a tremendous close contest.

What can you tell me about these these young folks here?

Well, thank you so much.

First of all, awesome job, Plymouth.

We love playing you because we love testing ourself against the best.

And you guys are one of the best teams out there.

And then as for my team, the front four, they're all seniors this year.

I've had them since they were freshmen.

We spent a lot of time together during lockdown and COVID on Zoom.

We did some in-person stuff and it's been a great four years with them and I'm going to miss them.

What a wonderful, great what a wonderful finish for these seniors.

On behalf of Unitil here is your 2023 championship trophy.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

Back to you, Jon.

All right.

Thank you so much, Alec.

And congratulations to both teams.

You did wonderful.

Plymouth Regional, Merrimack High School.

Congratulations.

We had a lot of fun having you here.

And we hope you had fun at home as well.

I know I did.

And you know what?

Every season of Granite State challenge, I learn a lot.

And I hope you do as well.

We'll see you next year.

Bye bye.

Major funding for the production of Granite State challenge is provided by Unitil.

Additional funding provided by NEA New Hampshire, Safety Insurance, The New Hampshire Lottery, D.F.

Richard Energy, Cognia, HRCU.

And viewers like you.

Thank you.