Prospect Mountain High Takes On Plymouth Regional In 1st GSC Game

DURHAM, NH — The Prospect Mountain Timberwolves face the Bobcats of Plymouth Regional High in the first game of the 43rd season of Granite State Challenge at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6, on New Hampshire PBS.

Prospect Mountain High and Plymouth Regional High, along with teams from 32 other New Hampshire schools, took a qualifying test back in November 2024 to secure one of 14 spots in Round One. Four additional teams competed in two wildcard games in December to secure the two remaining spots in Round One. The Timberwolves defeated Bishop Guertin High in the first wildcard game to secure their spot.

Playing for Prospect Mountain High captain and 11th grader Loralie Chase, 11th grader Liam Conway, 10th grader Jude Dumond and 9th grader Lucas Lund. The team alternates are 9th graders Kira Campanile and Kaydens Roy-Bennett. The team is coached by social studies teacher Amanda Vanderlinde. Prospect Mountain enrolls 496 students from Alton and Barnstead.

When asked what Prospect Mountain High team’s biggest strength was, coach Amanda Vanderlinde stressed their communication.

“They work really well together as a team, they're so respectful of each other, it's not just something they do after school they really care about each other,” Vanderlinde said.

The Prospect Mountain High team is stacked with underclassmen; team captain LoralieChase’s specialty is math and history.

“We work together as a team trying to keep that sportsmanship going and be polite, whether we win or lose, we are just trying to really remember that,” Loralie said. “We're representing our school.”

Playing for Plymouth Regional High are team captain and 12th grader Reagan Sutherland, twelfth graders Norm Sackett and Max Shamansky and 10th grader Yuriy Paul. The team alternates are 12th grader Mason Glew and 10th grader Abe Hankens. The coaches for the team are drafting teacher Jay Fogarty and world languages teacher Troy Harris. Plymouth Regional High School is a three-time Granite State Challenge champion. It enrolls 658 students from Plymouth, Ashland, Holderness, Campton, Rumney, Wentworth, Warren, Ellsworth, Waterville Valley and Thornton.

In the hour-long trip to the New Hampshire studios in Durham, Plymouth team captain Reagan Sutherland said, “We did some practice questions in the van. It was a lot of fun,and we just tried to create a positive atmosphere going into every match so we're in a good spot mentally.”

Plymouth Regional High coach Jay Fogarty is excited to be coaching his well-seasoned team.

“I know that across-the-board they play well together and they've been playing together for a long time, and I think one of the nice advantages when you've been playing together for a long time is they know their own strikes and weaknesses,” said Fogarty.

Catch the new season of Granite State Challenge premiering at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6, 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.

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Submitted by New Hampshire PBS.