(DURHAM, March 4, 2013) – Keene High School won its round one match against Bishop Brady High School in last night's Granite State Challenge game by a score of 285 - 185. Coming out of a close first round with an early lead, Keene held on to secure a victory.Keene came into the game with a veteran GSC player: their captain, Leo Hastings, who declared "we're back and we're really proud to be here." But Bishop Brady was up for a challenge too, and the schools were nearly neck-and-neck in the first two rounds, battling over questions about Portsmouth in WWII and the science of horseshoe crabs, as well as 10-point toss-up questions.The Keene Blackbirds were represented by captain Leo Hastings, Adam Burnett, Katie Marinoff, and Thara Vummadi, and led by coach Susan Romano. The Bishop Brady Green Giants were represented by captain Christian Degges, Christian Khoshatefeh, Revanth Damerla, Thomas Pelchat, and were coached by Eric Dyment. Watch the match online here.Keene High School will now advance to the second round of GSC; this match and all GSC matches are available online to watch anytime.The popular quiz contest began the season with 16 Granite State high school teams battling toward the coveted SuperChallenge title and brainy bragging rights. Look for exciting new angles to the games this season, including a Granite State vs. Bay State Governors' Cup grand finale match in May.It takes a winning combination of knowledge, teamwork, grace under pressure, and a quick buzzer reflex to play Granite State Challenge. The show brings New Hampshire's top high school academic teams head-to-head in lively competition. The game emphasizes quick recall of factual material in all major disciplines - math, science, social studies, language and fine arts - along with a mix of questions about current events, entertainment, sports, and regional topics. Host Jim Jeannotte poses the Challenge questions to the teams; Lori Warriner interviews team members.Each of the four team members and the alternates of the winning Granite State SuperChallenge team will receive a $1,000 award from the NHHEAF Network/ I Am College Bound.org program. The winning school also receives $1,000 and a trophy, and the runner-up school receives $500.Watch Granite State Challenge Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on NHPTV PRIME, and at other times on NHPTV PRIME and NHPTV EXPLORE; watch online anytime.Granite State Challenge is generously funded by lead sponsor Unitil Corporation, a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England. Additional funding is provided by the NHHEAF Network Organizations, DF Richard, Markem-Imaje, Pax World Funds, Heinemann and Measured Progress.
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