(DURHAM, September 23, 2010) – It was a nail-biter of a game as Merrimack Valley High School won the season opener of Granite State Challenge, besting John Stark Regional High School by 200 to 195 in last night’s match. Catch Granite State Challenge Wednesdays at 6 p.m. and again Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. on New Hampshire Public Television, and always online. The triumphant Merrimack Valley Lions included junior David Pivia and seniors Alex Williams, Nathan Merrow, Maya Westcott, Henry Bendel and Derek Blunt. They were coached by Brett Thompson. Their opponents, the John Stark Generals, included seniors Nick Rico, Sarah Ray, Taylor Frarie, Emily Lukasiak and Katie Muzzy, as well as junior Matt Reynolds. They were coached by Jill Pinard and Phil Matzke. TUNE IN WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 @ 6 p.m. BELMONT HIGH SCHOOL vs. BERLIN HIGH SCHOOL Tune in each Wednesday night @ 6 p.m. and follow your favorite teams' progress. The popular quiz contest begins with 32 Granite State high school teams battling toward the coveted SuperChallenge title. There are four single-elimination rounds leading to the final contest in April. If you missed a match and want to see how your favorite team fared, watch Granite State Challenge online at www.nhptv.org/gsc and on YouTube, or download it from the Granite State Challenge website or iTunes Music Store as a video podcast. Granite State Challenge brings New Hampshire's top high school academic teams head-to-head in spirited competition. The contest emphasizes quick recall of factual material in all major disciplines – math, science, social studies, language arts, and fine arts - along with a smattering of pop culture trivia and New Hampshire topics. Long-time host Jim Jeannotte asks the Challenge questions to the teams; co-host Lori Warriner interviews team members prior to the game. Funding for Granite State Challenge is provided Public Service of New Hampshire, the Community College System of New Hampshire, Irving Oil, Markem-Imaje and the NHHEAF Network Organizations.
Additional funding is provided by NEA New Hampshire, Safety Insurance, Bangor Savings Bank, and Aroma Joe's.
Plymouth Regional High and Merrimack High meet for the third time in the final.
Watch More Merrimack Valley High School Wins Season Opener of NHPTV's Granite State Challenge
Plymouth and Hopkinton High meet in the second Granite State Challenge Semifinal game.
Merrimack High meets Trinity High in the first Semifinal game.
Hopkinton High and 1990 and 1995 champion Laconia High battle it out in the final Quarterfinal game.
Plymouth Regional High meets Nashua High South in the third game of the quarterfinals.
Souhegan High meets Trinity High the second game of the quarterfinals.
It's the first game of the quarterfinals!
The final Round One game pairs up Belknap County neighbors, Inter-Lakes High and Laconia.
Hopkinton High and Salem High battle it out in game seven of the first round.
ConVal High and Nashua High South meet up in game six of the first round.
Newfound Regional High and Plymouth Regional High go head-to-head in game five of the firs
ASD takes on Manchester Central.
Oyster River High takes on Trinity High in the fourth Round One game.
Dover High faces off against Souhegan High in the third Round One game.
Belmont High will face 2023 champion, Merrimack High.
New Hampshire's brightest high school kids square off in a high-stakes quiz showdown.
Belmont High meets Concord High in the first wildcard qualifying game.
Lin-Wood High faces Newfound Regional High in the second wildcard qualifying game.
Bobcats vs. Tomahawks in this final matchup of the season.
Plymouth Regional High School takes on Trinity High School.
The semifinal round opens with Hopkinton taking on Merrimack.
Oyster River takes on Trinity in this quarter final match.
Bow High School takes on Plymouth Regional High School.
Hopkinton and St. Thomas Aquinas face off in a fast-paced round two competition.
Merrimack High School takes on Souhegan High school.
Dover High School takes on Trinity High School in the final match up of round one.
Oyster River High School takes on Winnacunnet High School.
Mascoma Valley Regional High School takes on Bow High School in this round one match.
Plymouth Regional High meets Salem High in this round one match.
Hopkinton High meets defending champion Portsmouth High.
Fall Mountain Regional High meets St. Thomas Aquinas High in game three.
Nashua High School South takes on Souhegan High School in this first round match.
John Stark Regional High meets Merrimack High in the first game of the 41st season.
John Stark takes on Newfound in this Wildcard Preseason matchup.
Profile takes on Salem in this Wildcard Preseason matchup.
Who will win it all?
Londonderry High School takes on Portsmouth High School.
Merrimack High School takes on Nashua High School South.
Londonderry takes on Manchester Central in this quarterfinal matchup.
ConVal High School takes on Portsmouth High School in this quarterfinal matchup.
Merrimack High School takes on Plymouth Regional High School in this quarterfinal matchup.
The first match in the quarterfinals in the 40th season of Granite State Challenge.
The eighth game of the season and final game in the first round.
The seventh game of the season pits Manchester Central High against Salem High.
The Conval Cougars take on the Hopkinton Hawks!
Mascoma takes on Portsmouth.
The Crusaders of Littleton High take on the Fall Mountain Wildcats.
The Purple Panthers of Nashua High South take on the Falcons of Bow High.
The Academy for Science and Design take on Plymouth Regional High School.