DURHAM, NH — Bishop Guertin High School will face Plymouth Regional High School in the final Granite State Challenge semifinal at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 14, on New Hampshire PBS.
The matchup will decide which team advances to the finals of the long-running New Hampshire academic quiz show.
The Bishop Guertin Cardinals are led by captain Mohid Khan, a 12th-grader, with seniors Declan Pyles, Teddy Bond, and Aidan Coffey in the lineup. Alternates are Carter Rick, a 12th-grader, and 10th-graders Grant Leonardi and Derek Chen. The school, in Hillsborough County, serves communities including Nashua, Merrimack, Bedford, Hudson, Hollis, and Pelham, and has won Granite State Challenge titles in 1987 and 2015.
The Plymouth Regional Bobcats are captained by 11th-grader Abe Hankens and include fellow 11th-graders Yuriy Paul and Ezra Amsden and 9th-grader Cam Cawley. Alternates are 10th-grader Leif Eisenbarth and 9th-graders Olivia Brayfield and Aurora Ricker. Plymouth Regional High School, in Grafton County, serves Plymouth, Ashland, Holderness, Campton, Rumney, Wentworth, Ellsworth, Waterville Valley, and Thornton. The school has won Granite State Challenge championships in 1996, 2013, and 2019 and reached the final match in 2018, 2020, 2023, and 2024.
Khan said the team is trying to stay steady going into the semifinal.
“We don’t want to be arrogant like we’re going to win, and we don’t want to be too nervous when we just fold under pressure,” he said. “I think we have a good mindset, feeling confident enough, but also not too nervous.”
Bishop Guertin coach Katie Graham, an English teacher, said the team knows it is facing strong competition.
“We know we’re going up against really strong teams,” she said. “We’re taking the attitude that everybody knows the answer. But who is going to be the first to buzz in and give the correct answer?”
Hankens said this year’s group is still developing chemistry after heavy losses to graduation.
“Last year we had a team of all seniors except for me,” Hankens said. “So, we have a whole new team this year, and we’re all getting to know each other which has been a lot of fun.”
Coach Jay Fogarty said roster turnover is a yearly challenge.
“Every year you probably graduate some people, and if you graduate all seniors, then you are left with people who have never played the show before,” he said. “And then you are at square one, so it’s really nice to have players who have played before.”
Granite State Challenge is hosted by Jon Cannon and features questions in math, science, social studies, language arts, fine arts, current events, entertainment, sports, and New Hampshire topics. The semifinal can also be streamed on the PBS App, the NHPBS YouTube channel, and at nhpbs.org/gsc.
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