ConVal Regional High takes on Nashua High South on Granite State Challenge

Durham, NH (March 3, 2025) - The ConVal Regional High Cougars meet the Purple Panthers of Nashua High South in game five of Granite State Challenge which airs on Thursday, March 6, 2025, at 8:30 p.m. on New Hampshire PBS.

Playing for ConVal Regional High are team captain and 11th grader Lukas Baker along with 11th graders Ben Michaud and Remy Kekuewa-Colon and Brian Alonso.

ConVal feels pretty confident going into the game. “We're feeling pretty good. We've done a lot of practice on Thursdays after school. We do pretty well with the U.S. History, we have some people that are really good with pop culture stuff, and we know a lot of geography stuff. I think those would be our main strong points,” said team captain Lukas.

ConVal High is coached by social studies teachers Eric Bowman and Chris Heider. ConVal Regional High enrolls 737 students from Antrim, Bennington, Dublin, Francestown, Greenfield, Hancock, Peterborough, Sharon and Temple. Fun fact - ConVal played in the first season of Granite State Challenge in 1984. 

ConVal coach Eric Bowman feels their laid-back approach to preparing works well for them. “I think we have a kind of a diverse spread of knowledge; there's nobody that's a specialist in any one thing. So that's probably a strength,” said Bowman. “And the biggest thing is they're just a laid-back kind of happy-go-lucky group that doesn't get stressed out. We're always having fun.”

Playing for Nashua High South are team captain and 12th grader Calvin Song along with 11th graders Henry Long, Eric Picanco, Thanasi Miris. Team alternates are 11th grader Caroline Kelly and 9th grader Samarth Sharma.

In his third year playing the game and his first one as Nashua High South team captain, Calvin Song said that this was the most spirited version of the team that he’s seen so far. “Our team's biggest strength is the way that we've diversified the knowledge base everyone has built for themselves,” said Calvin. “We all have our unique contributions to the team and we're just all very good at working in tandem with one another. We understand each other to the point where there's nothing I think we can't handle.”

Nashua High South is coached by social studies Lex Duval and English teacher Kelli Thornhill-Telerski. Nashua High South has an enrollment of 1,790 students and was the Granite State Challenge champion in 2016 and 2017.

Excitement was in the air as Nashua High South coach Kellie Thornhill-Telerski got her team settled. “They have been working really, really hard to get to this moment. So, I think we are going in with high hopes and a lot of practice and ready to have a good time,” said coach Thornhill-Telerski.

The Nashua High South team has a wide-variety of knowledge and they're an extremely tight-knit group. Coach Lex Duval mentioned, “They check in with each other, they support each other, they go to each other's events every once in a while, too, that are beyond just Granite State Challenge.”

Catch the next game of GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE on Thursday, March 6, 2025, at 8:30 p.m. on NHPBS. You can also stream it on the PBS App, the NHPBS YouTube channel, or online at nhpbs.org/gsc.

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

GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE is funded by lead sponsor Unitil with additional funding from Bangor Savings Bank, Safety Insurance, NEA New Hampshire and Aroma Joe’s.

About Host Jon Cannon: 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.

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