The Merrimack Tomahawks Defeat the Winnisquam Bears on Granite State Challenge

Durham, NH (March 14, 2025) - The Winnisquam Regional High Bears fell to the Merrimack High Tomahawks on Granite State Challenge by a score of 290-160 in the first round of GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE on New Hampshire PBS.

The Bears made their return to GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE after many years with a team led by 12th grade captain Beni Griffin joined by 12th graders Claire Langevin and Joe Curtin and 11th grader Marcus Morrissette. The team’s alternates were 11th grader Georgia Shartar-Howe and 10th grader Kevin Dore. Coaches for the team were science teacher Jeremy Shambaugh and social studies teacher Stephanie Shepard. Winnisquam Regional High School enrolls 446 students and serves the towns of Sanbornton, Tilton and Northfield.

Their opponents, the Merrimack High School Tomahawks, are the two-time defending champions and are looking for a three-peat this year. The team was captained by 12th grader Erin Murray along with 12^th graders Liam MacIsaac and Maeve LaRock and 11th grader Avis Clever. The team alternates were 12th grader Hikari McDowell and 11th graders Bridget Clark and Lauren Murby. The Merrimack team was coached by chemistry teacher Dr. Sara Campbell, and physics teacher Liz Dumais.

The Merrimack Tomahawks entered the NHPBS studios in their iconic electric blue vests and black bow ties with a mixture of both excitement and confidence. “I think our biggest strengths as a team are probably that we get along pretty well, and we have fun with ourselves,” said Merrimack team captain Erin Murray. “But we also know when to take it seriously, and we know each other's strengths.”

Cheering the team on was state representative Maureen Mooney. “New Hampshire takes great pride in the student participants of Granite State Challenge in Merrimack, in particular, student team members and coaches are revered for their knowledge, perseverance and courage to demonstrate and share their vast understanding of multiple subject areas,” said Mooney. “I've seen the show several times on television, but that doesn't beat actually being here. It's truly a community event, and New Hampshire PBS does a great job of hosting everybody and supporting this fantastic program.”

Donning brand-new pullovers with Granite State Challenge and their school’s logo, the Winnisquam team captain Beni Griffin said, “This is our first time in the games in a long time. We've all prepared really well, so I'm hoping that today we can show off what we've done.” Looking at the future of the Winnisquam team Beni was hopeful, “We're very lucky that we have younger people on the team. We are confident that the sophomores and juniors on the team will carry the torch after the seniors graduate.”

Speaking about the mood of her team, Winnisquam coach Stephanie Shepard expressed how excited they were to be at the NHPBS studios. “The kids are ready, we're ready, and we're looking forward to the opportunity."

ROUND ONE

Merrimack’s Maeve and Erin took their team to an early lead of 60-20, answering history and humanities questions correctly.  While Winnisquam’s Jo and Claire picked up 20 points for their team on questions about the Great Wall of China and giraffes.

Beni picked up 40 more points two to draw Winnisquam closer, but Merrimack’s Avis and Erin swiftly swooped in and  scored 60 consecutive points, including the Unitil Power Question worth 20 points and a New Hampshire civics video question from the NH Secretary of State’s Office, ending the round with a 130-40 lead.

“Three of my players are new this year. The only one returning is my captain,  so getting out to a lead in the first round is a real confidence booster for new players,” Merrimack coach Campbell said. “It definitely helps them feel that they can continue to succeed, even when they have a hard round.”

ROUND TWO – THREE STRIKES AND YOU’RE OUT

In the Three Strikes and You're Out Round, each team gets a 10-question category and each team member, starting with the captain, gets one question. The team continues to answer questions until they miss three questions. Each team also has three passes in each round. If a team answers all 10 questions correctly, they pick up an additional 10 points. 

Merrimack went first in the second round but was stumped early. Liam was the only Tomahawk to answer a question right, earning 10 points in the round after using two passes.

This gave the Winnisquam Bears a chance to chip away at Merrimack’s lead. Beni answered the first question correctly, and then Claire passed her question to Marcus, who knew the answer.  The Bears got through seven questions before striking out and earned 40 points by using their passes strategically. The round ended with Merrimack in the lead by a score of 150-80.

“We're definitely going to keep playing three strikes rounds. But honestly, every time we practice those we’ve done very well. It was very surprising to have such a rough round. But we’re going to work on that and just keep practicing and expanding our knowledge,” said Merrimack’s Erin Murray.

ROUND THREE – 60-SECOND ROUND

In the 60-Second Round, two alternates join their teams. Each team picks a ten-question category and has 60 seconds to answer the questions. If they answer all ten correctly, teams get a 10-point bonus. Team members can confer in the round, but the captain answers.

Round three was intense. Since the Winnisquam Bears were behind, they chose first and picked the “Victory is Mine.” category. This category’s answers involved winners in sports.

Winnisquam team captain Beni knew many of them but conferred with her teammates and alternates to ensure that they did not miss out on any points. They answered the first six questions in a row correctly before their first mistake, and in the end the team picked up 80 points.

The pressure was on the Tomahawks, as those 80 points by the Bears brought them to a 10-point lead as Merrimack started their category. Merrimack chose “Call Me,” a category where each answer included the word “call” or word with the letters “c-a-l-l” in that order.

The Merrimack team faltered twice on the first four questions, putting themselves in a dicey situation, but the Tomahawks showed their experience by answering the last six correctly to score 80 points. This meant that Merrimack was able to maintain their lead into the final round with a score of 230-160.

“That was definitely good because we were a little nervous once they started getting up and they were getting closer. And we’re like, ‘Okay, we still have our lead. We’re still ahead, we’re still good,” said Merrimack captain Erin Murray on their performance in round three.

FINAL ROUND – TOSS-UP

In the final round of the game, each correct answer is worth 20 points, but teams lose 20 points with an incorrect answer and a lead can be easily lost or gained in the round.

Merrimack dominated the final round. Erin and Avis answered questions confidently, despite each missing the answers on two questions.

Many of the questions stumped the Winnisquam Bears, and they fell short of making up the difference, but their performance was very good against a very competitive Merrimack team.

“It was great to be here because we hadn’t been here in so long and we weren’t sure if we would even qualify,” said Winnisquam team captain Beni Griffin. “So, it was great to have that come to fruition and be here, and we did great. I think that everyone had a lot of fun.”

“We will definitely keep working on our knowledge base. But also doing a lot more with the buzzers. I think a lot of times we knew the answers, and we could see them buzzing, but we were just out-buzzed on most of the questions,” said Winnisquam coach Shepard.

As the team celebrated the win, Merrimack coach Dr. Sara Campbell reflected on the game. “They did a great job. They worked together very well. I was especially happy with the second round, their teamwork in that round was great and looking to each other for the answers and the way they tried to use their passes, with, I think, a really hard Three Strikes round,” said Campbell.

The Merrimack Tomahawks will play the ConVal Regional High Cougars in the quarterfinals on April 17 at 8:30 p.m. on New Hampshire PBS.

Catch the next game of GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE as the Bow High takes on Profile High on Thursday, March 20, 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: GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE is hosted by Bow High School teacher Jon Cannon.  Cannon has a long history with GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE. You might say he grew up with the game.  He was a member of the Belmont High team when he was in high school, was a member of the NHPBS GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE crew when he was in college at UNH and was the coach of the Bedford High GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE team.

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