Nashua South High School Defeats Plymouth Regional High School to Become GSC Champions

WE HAVE A CHAMP!

Durham, NH (May 22, 2026) –  Nashua South High School is the 2026 GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE Champion after winning against rivals Plymouth Regional High School in a fast-paced, high-scoring final game, with a final score of 700 to 415. This is the third GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE championship for Nashua South High School, which won the championship cup in 2016 and 2017.

Captain Henry Long, a 12th-grader, led the Nashua South Purple Panthers. His team included fellow 12th-graders Eric Picanco and Thanasi Miris, along with 10th-grader Charlie Long. Jerry Primo, a 12th-grader, and Lexie Ross, a 10th-grader, were team alternates. The Purple Panthers were coached by Social Studies teacher Lex Duval and English teacher Kelli Thornhill-Telerski. Nashua South High School enrolls 1,635 students.

The Plymouth Bobcats were captained by 11th-grader Abe Hankens. Team members included 11th-grader Yuriy Paul, 9th-grader Olivia Brayfield and 11th-grader Ezra Amsden. Alternates were 10th-graders Leif Eisenbarth and 9th-graders Aurora Ricker and Cam Cawley. The team was coached by Drafting teacher Jay Fogarty and World Languages Teacher Troy Harris. Plymouth Regional High School enrolls about 640 students from Plymouth, Ashland, Holderness, Campton, Rumney, Wentworth, Ellsworth, Waterville Valley and Thornton. Plymouth Regional High School has won three championship titles, in 1996, 2013 and 2019.

The Panthers went out to an early lead about halfway through the first round. By the end of the round, they held a modest lead over the Bobcats with a score of 130 to 85.

Plymouth Regional’s attempt to make up points was not helped by a tough three-strikes and you’re out round, which yielded only two correct answers compared to Nashua South’s six correct answers. While they performed better during the quickfire, 60-second round, with nine out of ten answers, Nashua South squashed their hopes for a rally by also scoring nine out of ten.

However, Round Four of the game, where point values double and wrong answers lose points, has more than once seen a come-from-behind victory. As much as Plymouth Regional was ready to dig deep and win the day, Nashua South was intent on making that impossible. This led to a final round that was most remarkable for the sheer number of questions asked and answered. In round four alone, Plymouth Regional earned an excellent 230 points, but Nashua South gained an amazing 420 points. For reference, that’s higher than the winning scores of both this season’s semifinal games.

It was a dominant performance that the strategically savvy Plymouth Regional team had to respect. “ I think my team played great, and it's just very difficult to beat a performance like that from Nashua South,” said Bobcats’ Coach Jay Fogarty. “They just learned so much about being on the show. The fact that our team made it this far just blows my mind.”

Plymouth Captain Abe Hankens had a similarly positive outlook. “I'm pretty proud of how we came together as a team over the course of the season. Really, none of us knew each other at the beginning of the year, but we've all become friends over the course of the season,” he reflected. “None of us are seniors. We'll be back next year.“

Naturally, Nashua South, a team made up primarily of seniors, was elated by their win. “That was amazing. I cannot believe we scored that many points,” said Purple Panthers Captain Henry Long. “It's just really nice to see all of the practices, just hanging out together, having fun—to see that all pay off and win it all. I still can't believe it.”

Nashua South Coach Kelli Thornhill-Telerski was even more effusive. “We could not be more proud of this group of kids. They are just spectacular human beings, and they work together so well,” she said. “I think when you're watching this onscreen, you only see little snippets of it, but this is truly the culmination of, for many of them, years of work that they've put in and just—wow. I'm really happy! We're very excited."

The GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE championship game will re-air Sunday, May 24th at 6:30 PM on NHPBS. You can visit nhpbs.org/schedule to see other air times. You can also stream it on the PBS App, the NHPBS YouTube channel, or online at nhpbs.org/gsc.

Hosted by Bow High School teacher and former GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE coach (Bedford High), contestant (Belmont High), and GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE crew member, Jon Cannon, GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE features some of New Hampshire's brightest high school students as they demonstrate remarkable teamwork, quick thinking, and smarts to beat the clock and buzz in first on this iconic New Hampshire game show. The game emphasizes quick recall of math, science, social studies, language arts and fine arts facts—along with questions about current events, entertainment, sports and New Hampshire.

Test your knowledge with GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE online quizzes, and more at the GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE web page, or try your hand at daily brain teasers on the GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE Facebook page.

GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE is funded by lead sponsor Unitil, with additional funding from Safety Insurance and NEA New Hampshire.

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TV Schedule

• nashua south VS plymouth regional
  Granite State Challenge
  Sunday, 5/24 at 6:30 P.M. on NHPBS
  
  

• nashua south VS plymouth regional
  Granite State Challenge
  Monday, 5/25 at 2:00 P.M. on NHPBS
  
  

• nashua south VS plymouth regional
  Granite State Challenge
  Thursday, 5/28 at 3:30 P.M. on EXPLORE
  
  

• nashua south VS plymouth regional
  Granite State Challenge
  Friday, 5/29 at 4:30 A.M. on EXPLORE
  
  

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