First SuperChallenge Title for Hollis-Brookline
Granite State SuperChallenge Winners: Hollis-Brookline High School
From L to R: Senior, Dylan King; Junior, Trevor Nierendorf; Senior, Dan Michon; Coach, Chris Cieto; Senior, Patrick McDaniel; Junior, Joe Perricone; and Junior, Caroline Quaglieri.
Granite State SuperChallenge
Top Row: Hollis-Brookline High School
From L to R: Junior, Joe Perricone; Senior, Patrick McDaniel; Senior, Dylan King; and, Senior, Dan Michon
Bottom Row: Phillips Exeter Academy
From L to R: Seniors, Arjun Venkatachalam, Michael Levin, Ji Hyuk Lim and Satyen Motiani
Granite State SuperChallenge Runners Up: Phillips Exeter Academy
From L to R: Seniors, Satyen Motiani; Ji Hyuk Lim; Arjun Venkatachalam and Michael Levin
(DURHAM, April 17, 2009) – The field was whittled down to two schools: Phillips Exeter Academy and Hollis-Brookline High School. Twenty-four years ago, the two schools faced each other in the Granite State Challenge season finale, and Phillips Exeter emerged the victor. However, history did not repeat itself last night, as Hollis-Brookline claimed its first SuperChallenge title by a score of 610 to 530.
“It was anyone's match,” observed host Jim Jeannotte. “Hollis-Brookline had a big bonus round, but all the other rounds were pretty even. It was a really fast-paced and exciting game!”
Phillips Exeter and Hollis-Brookline were tied at 275 points each after the third round. Then Hollis-Brookline pulled ahead, and took the coveted SuperChallenge title.
“Our strategy was to beat the other team to the buzzer — and have the correct answer, of course!” said Dan Michon of Hollis-Brookline. The team had no trouble answering the flurry of challenging questions that host Jim Jeannotte tossed out during the one-hour season finale match. Their intense weekly practices helped, as did watching last year's Granite State Challenge games.
The triumphant Hollis-Brookline team included seniors Patrick McDaniel, Dylan King, and Dan Michon, junior Joe Perricone, and alternates Caroline Quaglieri and Trevor Nierendorf. They were coached by Chris Cieto.
“They were very quick to the buzzer. Hollis-Brookline deserved the win,” said senior and Phillips Exeter team captain Arjun Venkatachalam in congratulating the team's efforts. The Phillips Exeter team played together all four years and included seniors Arjun Venkatachalam, Michael Levin, Ji Hyuk Lim, Satyen Motiani and alternates Bhargavi Puppala, In Young Cho, and Kate MacNamee. They were coached by Hunter Farnham.
“It was a very even, good match, and exciting to watch,” said Hollis-Brookline principal Tim Kelley. “Our congratulations to both teams for a great season.”
Granite State Challenge returns in September for its 27th season. Tune in 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 the spring.
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 Tim Estiloz interviews team members prior to the game.
Major funding for Granite State Challenge is provided by the New Hampshire Lottery. Additional funding is provided by Public Service of New Hampshire, the Community College System of New Hampshire, Irving Oil, and the NHHEAF Network Organizations.
Watch More Hollis-Brookline High School Wins Granite State SuperChallenge
