This week on Granite State Challenge, the Rams of Tilton School take on the Pioneers of Trinity High School.

Only one team will advance.

Granite State Challenge starts now.

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

Additional funding provided by Bangor Savings Bank.

Safety insurance.

NEA New Hampshire, Aroma Joe's and viewers like you.

Thank you.

Get ready.

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

It's time for Granite State Challenge.

Here's your host, Jon Cannon.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Granite State Challenge.

We are here for our first semifinal match up.

Four teams are in the semifinals and we've got two to do battle to see who's going to make it to the Granite State Challenge Championship.

Let's introduce them to you.

First up we have the team from the Tilton School.

Hi, I'm Lex and I'm a senior.

Hi, I'm Niko.

I'm a junior.

Hi, I'm Jamie, I'm a junior.

Hi, I'm Sebastian, and I'm a senior.

The alternates for the team are Turner and Nathaniel.

And the team is coached by Spanish teacher Keelan Mackenzie And they're the team from the Tilton School.

And their opponents in this semifinal matchup is the team from Trinity High School.

Hi, I'm Desmond, I'm a senior.

Hi.

I'm Tyler.

I'm a senior.

Hi.

I'm Long and I'm a junior.

Hi.

I'm Teagan and I'm a junior.

The alternate for the team is Madelyn, and the coaches are social studies teacher Andrew Lavoie and math teacher Louis Sievers.

They are the pioneers of Trinity High School.

Those are our teams this week.

But of course, we also are going to introduce our beloved judge on the Ann Cam back with us again is Ann Boulanger.

All right teams introductions out of the way.

Grab those signaling devices.

You know the drill.

We play in four rounds.

In round one, we'll do some ten point toss up questions.

So Tilton and Trinity good luck.

Let's play.

This cartoon beagle created by Charles Schulz, was born at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm.

Lex of Tilton.

Snoopy.

Yes.

What is the southernmost country in Africa?

Jamie of Tilton.

South Africa.

That's right.

Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, sponsored the 1492 voyage of this explorer.

Long of Trinity.

Christopher Columbus.

That's right.

This position in football snaps the ball to the quarterback.

Niko of Tilton.

Center.

That's right.

This man who was the 15th president of the United States, never married and is sometimes referred to as the Bachelor president.

Lex of Tilton.

James Buchanan.

Correct.

Teams, what leader was killed on March 15th or the Ides of March?

Teagan of Trinity.

Julius Caesar.

That is right.

Walter White, Michael Corleone and Tony Soprano are all examples of this type of central character who is morally flawed but relatable.

Desmond the Trinity.

Anti-hero.

That is right.

For the next question teams, go ahead and take a look at your monitors.

This species of medium sized bear, native to India and Sri Lanka, bears the name of one of the seven deadly sins.

Sebastian of Tilton.

Sloth bear.

That is right.

Sea otters in California make their home in underwater forests made up of this large brown algae.

Lex of Tilton.

Kelp.

Kelp is right.

This French chemist developed a way to remove pathogens from and extend the shelf life of milk and juice.

Desmond of Trinity.

Pasteur.

Yes.

This baseball player, known as the Iron Horse, retired in 1939 after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.

Lex of Tilton.

Lou Gehrig.

Yes.

Teams.

Our next question is our Unitil Power Question worth double the points.

So a 20 point toss up coming to you on your monitors.

Take a look.

The Public Enemy song Fight the Power is prominently featured in the 1989 movie Do the Right Thing as requested by this director of the film.

Do the Right Thing was directed by Spike Lee.

All right, teams, in what TV show will you find Patrick Star and Squidward?

Niko of Tilton.

SpongeBob.

That's right.

In the fantasy novel series by Rick Riordan, who is Percy Jackson's father?

Desmond of Trinity.

Poseidon.

Yes.

Edward Teach may or may not have left behind some buried treasure on the Isles of Shoals off the coast of New Hampshire.

Teach is much better known by this name.

Sebastian of Tilton.

Blackbeard.

Correct.

All right, teams, we've got a math question.

You've got pencil and paper.

If you choose to use it.

A bag contains four ginger snaps, five chocolate chip cookies, and one lemon cookie.

What are the odds of randomly pulling out a lemon cookie?

Sebastian of Tilton 10%.

That is right.

This character in Hamlet is the daughter of Polonius, the sister of Laertes and Hamlet's love interest.

Lex of Tilton.

Ophelia.

Yes, the song I Will Always Love You, recorded by Whitney Houston for the movie The Bodyguard, was written and first performed by this country music legend, who is also known for the song Jolene.

Niko of Tilton.

Dolly Parton.

Yes.

In this book by Maurice Sendak, monsters tell their King Max, oh, please don't go.

We'll eat you up.

We love you so.

Desmond of Trinity.

Where the Wild Things Are.

Correct.

All right, teams, next question is a video question coming to you on your monitors.

Take a look.

Hi, I'm Emily Spencer, Miss New Hampshire, and here's a question about New Hampshire for you.

This is the northernmost town in New Hampshire, and is the only New Hampshire town to share a land border with Vermont.

It also shares a border with Maine and the province of Quebec, Canada.

See a lot of moose up there in Pittsburg, New Hampshire.

Hungry as a horse, quiet as a mouse, and mad as a hatter are all examples of this figure of speech that uses like or as to compare things.

Desmond of Trinity.

Simile.

Yes.

Another name for a line is a queue.

Spell queue.

Desmond of Trinity.

Q u e u e. Correct.

Teams, which president promised to speak softly and carry a big stick?

Lex of Tilton.

Teddy Roosevelt.

That's right.

Another math question.

Teams.

What is the mean of two, four, six, eight and ten?

Lex of Tilton.

Six.

Yes.

All right, teams, another picture.

Take a look at your monitors.

You are looking at the violet line of species of this family of fish found in South American waterways and known for their predatory behavior and legends about how they can strip a body of a human to its skeleton.

Desmond of Trinity.

Piranha.

That's right.

What gas do plants absorb during photosynthesis and turn into sugar and oxygen?

Tyler of Trinity.

Carbon dioxide.

Yes.

Carl Perkins wrote and recorded this rockabilly song about colorful footwear in 1955, before Elvis Presley covered it in 1956.

Desmond of Trinity.

Blue Suede Shoes.

Yes.

This term which is used to describe the popular music publishers and songwriters found in New York City in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, originally referred to a specific location on West 28th Street between fifth and Sixth Avenue.

That was Tin Pan Alley, and that sound ends the round.

A great round, fast paced round, but Tilton out in front by a score of 140 to 110.

Excellent first round teams, but we're going to put a pause in the action.

Get some time to get to know you a little bit better.

And we're going to start with a team from the Tilton School.

Tilton school is a private boarding school of 222 students in Tilton, New Hampshire and on their route to the semifinal matchup this team went through Guilford and Portsmouth to make it here.

And we're going to talk a little bit about life after high school, right after Tilton School.

So we'll start with Sebastian.

What are you thinking about studying and going into?

Astrophysics and astronomy.

Okay.

What did you get into that, like describe your journey to astrophysics, if you will?

Well, I've always been, like, interested in, like, constellations.

And, as a kid, I read a lot about the Greek myths.

And then I went out and, like, saw the constellations.

And then when I guess when I came to Tilton, that's when I met, my physics teacher, Mr.

Lesser.

And he had also expressed, an interest in astrophysics.

So we got to talking and, well, we just both he found the passion in me.

And then we started, the astronomy club.

Excellent.

And so there's, there's a good career in astrophysics out there.

Hopefully, hopefully.

All right, next up we have Jamie, also in the science field but a little bit different.

Tell us.

Yeah.

So I've always really been interested in like math, but math is hard sometimes.

And what's better than math I would think is chemistry.

It's just math.

But with substances.

Okay.

But since college is very, very expensive and my dad's in the military, I, I did some research, and I found that the Navy will pay for prospective, like, officers to go to college for the NUPOC program.

Nuclear propulsion officer candidate.

Nuclear propulsion officer candidate.

So a life in the military or start in the military and, getting those subs through the water.

Oh, yeah.

Fast and safely.

Fantastic.

All right.

We've talked a little bit about academics with Sebastian and Jamie, but Niko, you're thinking athletics after college or after high school?

Yeah.

That's right, I'm looking to go play college lacrosse.

Okay.

So, have you as a high school player?

Have you already been recruited by some colleges?

I've had some conversations, but not officially recruited yet.

Okay.

And so, at what point do you think they're going to reach out to you and say, hey, Niko, we want you on our team.

Probably some point this spring.

All right.

Excellent.

Well, good luck.

And, hope to see you on the TV playing, some lacrosse, not just Granite State Challenge and Lex, your brother, you're you're graduating at the end of this year, and you were recently accepted where?

I was accepted to West Point, United States military academy.

Okay, so that's a pretty high honor.

That's a difficult thing to get into.

Have you made your decision yet?

Not yet, but I'm definitely leaning towards there.

I went to summer camp, there this summer, in June, and it was, it was really awesome.

I really liked it.

Knew I was going to apply, and I was, given the honor of an appointment, so I'm.

I'm looking to make my decision soon, but I'm leaning towards there.

It is a is a great honor.

Congratulations.

And, great to see a local kiddo going to West Point.

And this is the team from the Tilton School.

All right, next up, we're going to talk to the team from Trinity High School.

Trinity's in Manchester, of course, but they draw students from all around the region.

About 300 students and this team made their way through Souhegan High School and Plymouth Regional High School before landing here in the semifinals.

And same set of questions for you guys.

So Teagan, we'll start with you thinking maybe a career in the STEM fields?

So my two main ideas are something related to biology, especially like with animals.

I think that octopi and birds are really interesting.

Same.

And my other idea is going into something with dentistry.

Because human anatomy is neat, and it would be helping people.

Yeah.

Oh that's great.

Yeah.

And you know, as a junior you've got a little while to sort of let those decisions settle a little bit.

So.

Fantastic.

Long is thinking something maybe a little bit different from STEM.

You're thinking of something in the humanities field.

Yeah.

Tell us about it.

I'm thinking about being a writer, whether a philosopher or a poet or a journalist.

Okay.

So, poetry and philosophy, I feel like there's a lot of overlap in that Venn diagram.

Yeah, there are two sides of the same coin.

I want to use both in my future endeavors.

Excellent.

Well, if you ever, get anything published, make sure you send it here to New Hampshire PBS, because I would love to read it.

All right, all right, all right, Tyler, we've already talked astrophysics with Sebastian.

Tell us about your astrophysics journey.

So I have always been interested in STEM, whether that be like chemistry, physics, mathematics, all of it.

I love that stuff.

I eat it up, but, I think that, like, specifically, space is so cool to me because the, universe that we know is just unknowable is huge.

And the thing is, even though these things are gigantically massive, like you cannot even picture it, they all function at a sort of fundamental level of some, some like particles that like it's all connected in one way.

You know, in a way that's almost like philosophy.

Maybe you and Long could do a collaboration.

I'd be down for that.

All right.

And lastly, Desmond, you've answered a few questions about literature and today's matchup.

You're thinking about studying literature.

Yes, I'd love to study literature.

It's, I love reading.

It's one of my favorite things to do in the whole wide world.

Yeah.

What do you love about it?

I love how books can challenge your beliefs and push you out of your comfort zone and make you learn new things.

Yeah, by putting you in that position of the protagonist.

That's not your position.

Absolutely.

Well, again, just like Long, if you ever write anything, make sure you share it with us.

And that is the team from Trinity High School.

All right.

Great job in round one.

And thank you for that time out Tilton and Trinity.

But we're going to get right into round two.

As you know in round two we do our three strikes and you're out round.

The way this works you know how it works.

But for the folks at home we go down the line player by player.

Each team gets ten questions.

And we keep going until all ten questions are asked or until three strikes and you're out.

As a reminder, each team has three passes which you can use, and something in the previous question will be the inspiration for the next question.

So because we do this alphabetically, Tilton, we're going to start with you.

So, Lex, you're up first.

This is your question.

This song by The Beatles was written by Paul McCartney to console John Lennon's son, Julian, after his parents split.

Hey Jude.

Correct.

Niko.

The novel Jude the Obscure was one of the works of this 19th century British author who also wrote Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Far from the Madding Crowd.

It is Thomas Hardy.

Jamie.

Lippy Lion and Hardy Har Har were two animated characters from Hanna-Barbera.

Lippy the Lion was a lion looking for a get rich quick scheme, and Hardy Har Har is his hapless companion who is a member of this laughing carnivorous mammal species.

Pass.

Pass to Sebastian.

Say it again.

Hyena is right.

Lex to you.

The hyenas in the 1994 Disney movie The Lion King are voiced by Cheech Marin.

Jim Cummings and this actor and talk show host known for the movies Ghost and Sister Act.

Jim Carrey.

It is Whoopi Goldberg.

Niko.

Whoopi Goldberg starred in the movie ghost with Patrick Swayze, who starred in this movie about a dance instructor who worked at a resort in the Catskills and refused to let anyone put baby in a corner.

Dirty Dancing.

Correct.

Jamie.

Actor Jonathan Bailey loves dancing through life in this 2024 movie.

Wicked.

Correct.

Sebastian.

Actress Kristin Chenoweth, who played Glinda in the Broadway version of wicked, won a Tony in 1999 for playing this younger sister of Charlie Brown in the musical You're a Good Man Charlie Brown.

Pass.

Pass to Lex.

Could you please repeat the question?

Actress Kristin Chenoweth, who played Glinda in the Broadway version of Wicked, won a Tony in 1999 for playing this younger sister of Charlie Brown in the musical You're a Good Man Charlie Brown.

Lucy.

Sorry.

Sally.

And that is your third strike that ends the round.

All right, Trinity, we're going to turn our attention over to you.

Same procedure.

Desmond, we'll start with you at the top.

This is your question.

This famous painting by Grant Wood features a farmer and his wife standing in front of a farmhouse.

American Gothic.

Correct.

Tyler.

Literary works that follow a Gothic esthetic include Dracula by Bram Stoker and Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by this author.

No idea.

It is Robert Louis Stevenson.

Long.

Adlai Stevenson was the Democratic nominee for president of the United States in 1952 and 1956.

He lost both times to this man.

Dwight Eisenhower.

Correct.

Teagan.

This man served as the vice president under Dwight Eisenhower.

I don't know.

It is Richard Nixon.

Desmond, back to you.

On Saturday, October 20th, 1973, Richard Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, who immediately resigned, as did the next person Nixon asked, Deputy Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus in what became known as this massacre.

Valentine's day massacre.

Sorry.

No, it was the Saturday Night Massacre.

And that is your third strike and the end of your round.

All right, teams, keeping it tight.

We're going to invite the alternates to come on up and join their teams as we get ready for our 60 second round.

In this round, each team gets ten questions in a category.

They can work together and talk together as a team.

Trinity as the team trailing right now.

We're going to start with you.

You get to choose first from our three categories today.

And they are Birds of a Feather, Bridgerton and Turn the Page.

Birds of a Feather.

Okay, Birds of a Feather.

So, Desmond, you can talk to your team, but I will take your answer as the team answer in this category.

The answers to all the following include the name of a bird that is a raptor.

Okay, so 60 seconds on the clock.

Good luck.

Here we go.

He is a renowned skateboarder.

Tony Hawk.

Yes.

They warned you about the Hotel California.

Eagles.

Yes.

He was a wizard King Arthur hung out with.

Merlin.

Yes.

This is a marine jump jet that can land and take off vertically.

Skip.

Okay, it is the Harrier.

This is another name for Natty Bumpo from The Last of the Mohicans.

Pass.

Hawkeye.

They are a West Coast NFL team and were defeated by the Patriots in Super Bowl 19.

Seahawks.

Seahawks is right.

This theoretical physicist played himself on the Big Bang Theory.

Stephen Hawking.

Yes.

They went out to sea in a beautiful pea- green boat in an Edward Lear poem.

Pass.

It is The Owl and the Pussy-Cat.

It made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.

Millennium Falcon.

Yes.

Humphrey Bogart played Sam Spade in this 1941 film noir Maltese Falcon.

Correct.

All right.

And, on the Ann Cam at the end of their round.

Five.

Five out of ten, Seven out of ten on your round.

Seven out of ten on your round.

And of course, I made an error.

It was Super Bowl 49, not Super Bowl 19.

I don't know what I was thinking.

It's those Roman numerals will get you every time.

All right, Tilton, we turn to you.

Lex, you can talk to your team.

You can choose from our remaining categories.

Bridgerton and Turn the Page.

We're going to go with Turn the Page.

Turn the Page.

All right, so the answers to the following will all be books on the American Library Association list of 100 most banned and challenged books from 2010 to 2019.

All right, Lex, again, talk to your team.

I'll take your answer as the team answers.

60 seconds.

Start the clock.

This series was created by Dav Pilkey.

Captain Underpants.

Correct.

This is the real story of two male penguins and their adopted son.

Penguin.

It is And Tango Makes Three.

This graphic novel tells the story of thearter- loving Callie.

Drama.

Correct.

This novel by Toni Morrison follows Sethe from her days as a slave to her life as a free woman.

Bluest Eye.

It is Beloved.

Katniss Everdeen is the protagonist in this series of.

Hunger Games.

Yes.

This novel by Harper Lee is narrated by Scout Finch.

To Kill a Mockingbird.

Correct.

This novel by Aldous Huxley begins with a description of central London Hatchery.

Brave New World.

What?

Brave New World.

Correct.

This novel by John Steinbeck tells the story of ranch workers Lennie and George.

Mice and Men, Of Mice and Men.

Correct.

This novel by Mark Twain tells the story of one of Tom Sawyer's friends.

Huckleberry Finn.

Yes.

Some versions of this book have an old and a new part that ends with a revelation.

Something I don't know.

It is The Bible.

Seven out of ten on your round.

All right.

Thank you alternates.

You can go ahead and take your seats as we get ready for round four.

Still a tight match going into round four.

We're going to pick back up with our toss up questions.

We're going to double the point value to 20 points, but we will be deducting 20 points for incorrect responses.

So Tilton and Trinity with a tight match, playing smart and strategically.

Good luck.

Here we go.

This bird was convinced the sky was falling in a famous folktale.

Desmond of Trinity.

Chicken Little.

Yes.

This 1847 novel by Emily Bronte features Heathcliff and Catherine.

Desmond of Trinity.

Wuthering Heights.

Yes.

This reddish brownish orange color is named for a Renaissance painter who is known for his use of warm and sensual colors in works like Venus of Urbino and Flora.

That painter is Titian.

All right, teams, the next question comes to you on your monitors from Rebecca Rule, host of Our Hometown and author of New Hampshire Trivia.

Take a look.

This baseball hero from Charlestown caught for the Red Sox for ten years.

He was rookie of the year and inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

We're looking for Carlton Fisk on that one.

In 1511, this British king banned commoners from bowling and levied a high tax on private lanes to ensure that only the wealthy could afford to bowl.

It was Henry the Eighth.

What are three main parts of an insect's body divided into?

Teagan of Trinity.

The head, abdomen and the thorax.

Correct.

You got all three.

This president, who served from 1845 to 1849, is the only speaker of the House to be elected president.

Niko of Tilton.

Taft.

Sorry.

No.

Trinity.

A deep cut there for James Polk.

This flirtatious cartoon character with an alliterative name created by Max Fleischer in 1930 and known for the phrase boop boop a doop, was based partly on silent film actress Clara Bow.

Desmond of Trinity Betty Boop.

That is right.

In 1991, Russia, Belarus, in what is now this country, agreed to dissolve the Soviet Union and form the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Lex of Tilton.

Ukraine.

Yes.

Zora Neale Huston's 1937 work Their Eyes Were Watching God was adapted for TV in 2005 by this woman known for her talk show and book club, and as the Queen of all media, Jamie of Tilton.

Oprah Winfrey.

Correct.

What is the position held by the person who breaks a tie vote in the Senate?

Lex of Tilton.

The vice president.

Correct.

In 1916, Sieur de Monts National Monument became the first U.S. national park east of the Mississippi River.

It is now known by this name.

In a 1941 speech, President Franklin D Roosevelt spoke of four essential freedoms freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from this didn't quite get to the end of that question, and by the narrowest of margins, Tilton will be moving on to the Granite State Challenge Championship.

What a great game, teams.

Just how we like it here on Granite State Challenge.

Tilton.

Congratulations.

We'll see you in a couple of weeks at the championship match.

And Trinity, it was a great run.

We loved having you here.

We hope you had fun here.

Congratulations on making it this far.

And for you at home, we hope you enjoyed this week's match.

We hope you tune in next week.

As the team from Merrimack High School, the defending champions, take on upstart Bedford Bulldogs.

We hope you join us then, but we are glad you joined us this week and we hope you learned something because I did as well.

We'll see you next time.

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

Additional funding provided by Bangor Savings Bank, Safety Insurance, NEA New Hampshire, Aroma Joe's and viewers like you.

Thank you.