Mascoma Valley, Plymouth Regional Teams Face Off On Granite State Challenge

DURHAM, NH — Students from Mascoma Valley Regional High School and Plymouth Regional High School are set to compete in the Granite State Challenge.

The two Grafton County teams will face off in game five of the quiz competition. The episode will air at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 12, on New Hampshire PBS.

The Mascoma Royals team includes captain Adeline Josephson, a 12th-grader, along with 11th-graders Carl Russell and Abby Lockitt, and 10th-grader Isaac Malenda. Ninth-grader Riley Hathaway serves as an alternate. The team is coached by Social Studies teacher John Sweetland. Mascoma Valley Regional High serves 340 students from Canaan, Grafton, Enfield, Orange, and Dorchester. The Royals qualified for the challenge by winning a wildcard match against Conant High.

"I think we each have our own individual fortes," Josephson said.

Her team was excited for their first appearance on the show. She added that she enjoys literature and pop culture, while Carl is skilled in history, and Abby excels in countries and languages.

"We've got someone who's great in geography, and someone who is very sharp in math," Sweetland said. He also mentioned having "a very good comic person," concluding that the team is "pretty balanced."

The Plymouth Bobcats team consists of captain Abe Hankens, an 11th-grader, along with fellow 11th-graders Yuriy Paul and Ezra Amsden, and 10th-grader Leif Eisenbarth. Ninth-graders Aurora Ricker, Cam Cawley, and Olivia Brayfield are alternates. The Bobcats are coached by Drafting teacher Jay Fogarty and World Languages teacher Troy Harris. Plymouth Regional High enrolls 640 students from Plymouth, Ashland, Holderness, Campton, Rumney, Wentworth, Ellsworth, Waterville Valley, and Thornton. The school has a history of success on the show, winning titles in 1996, 2013, and 2019, and reaching the final match in 2018, 2020, 2023, and 2024.

"This is a young team, we had a lot of turnover from a really great group of kids last year," Harris said. He added that it has been "exciting to see these kids coming up and getting excited to play."

"Granite State Challenge is well known for its pop culture questions and our team isn't really not that strong in this category," Fogarty said, noting that it "might be our Achilles heel."

Jon Cannon hosts the Granite State Challenge, which highlights high school students demonstrating teamwork and quick thinking. The game tests knowledge in math, science, social studies, language arts, fine arts, current events, entertainment, sports, and New Hampshire topics. Viewers can also stream the episode on the PBS App, the NHPBS YouTube channel, or online at nhpbs.org/gsc.