ConVal Regional High Meets Defending Champions Merrimack High

Durham, NH (April 14, 2025) - ConVal Regional High takes on defending champion Merrimack High on Thursday, April 17, 2025, at 8:30 p.m. on New Hampshire PBS in the third quarterfinal game of Granite State Challenge.

Playing for ConVal Regional High are team captain and eleventh grader Lukas Baker along with twelfth grader Owen Beaulieu and eleventh graders Remy Kekuewa-Colon and Ben Michaud. Team alternates are twelfth grader Kyle Austin and eleventh grader Brian Alonso.

ConVal team captain Lukas Baker and teammate Ben Michaud each spoke about strategies for the upcoming quarterfinal game. “We watched a couple of episodes and we feel more confident” said Lukas. “We had some discussions about our three strikes round and not leaving passes on the board and using them strategically to our advantage,” said Ben.

The team is coached by social studies teachers Eric Bowman and Chris Heider. ConVal Regional High enrolls 737 students and serves the towns of Antrim, Bennington, Dublin, Francestown, Greenfield, Hancock, Peterborough, Sharon and Temple.

Playing for defending champions Merrimack High are team captain and twelfth grader Erin Murray along with twelfth graders Maeve LaRock and Liam MacIsaac and eleventh grader Avis Clever. Team alternates are twelfth grader Hikari McDowell and eleventh grader Bridget Clark.

Team captain Erin Murray spoke about the previous game outcome between ConVal Regional High and Nashua South. “I think we're a little more nervous running into this match,” said Erin. “It's a team that we weren't expecting to face. We're a little bit unsure of how they'll play, but I'm still feeling really good.”

The team is coached by chemistry teacher Dr. Sara Campbell and physics teacher Liz Dumais. Merrimack High enrolls around 1,087 students and serves the town of Merrimack.

“We've not played against ConVal before,” said Merrimack coach Dr. Sara Campbell.  “We got to see their match against Nashua High South and they looked really good. So, we expect another good match.”

The winner of the game moves on to the semifinals where they will meet the winner of the next quarterfinal game between Bedford High and Profile High airing on Thursday, May 8^th at 8:30 p.m. on New Hampshire PBS.

Bedford  High and Profile High meet  on the next game of GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE airing on Thursday, April 24 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.

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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