Merrimack High School recently advanced to the finals of the Granite State Challenge. Shown from left are senior captain Erin Murray, seniors Liam MacIsaac, Maeve LaRock and junior Avis Clever. Courtesy photo

DURHAM – The Merrimack High School Tomahawks put their foot on the gas and did not let up to advance to its fifth Granite State Challenge final with a chance to secure an unprecedented third Granite State Challenge championship, beating the young Bedford High School Bulldogs 440-290 in the final semifinal game.

Playing for Bedford were captain and freshman Matthew Ruggiero, sophomores Tabitha Arp and Alina Chausovsky, freshman Sumedh Godavarthy as well as team alternates sophomore Samantha Arp and freshman Tristan Albano. The team was coached by Kelly Chausovsky, a Destination Imagination coordinator and parent Sherry Arp.

Merrimack was led by senior Erin Murray accompanied by fellow seniors Liam MacIsaac and Maeve LaRock as well as junior Avis Clever. The team’s alternates were senior Hikari McDowell as well as juniors Bridget Clark and Lauren Murby. The team was coached by chemistry teacher Dr. Sara Campbell and physics teacher Elizabeth Dumais.

The opening round went back and forth between both teams as they both answered a wide range of questions.

Merrimack’s Murray and MacIsaac combined for the team’s first 50 points, while Bedford’s Chausovsky got her team started with a biochemistry answer.

Ruggiero and Chausovsky slowly caught up to the Tomahawks with a three answer run related to U.S. politics and other categories.

Merrimack’s LaRock and MacIsaac heated up alongside Murray answering two video questions and a math question, to finish the round with a 150-40 lead.

Bedford went first in the second round and was challenged by some tough questions. The team struck out after using two passes and did not gain any points.

Merrimack had a bit more luck and answered three of its first four questions correctly. However, the team had to use two passes and faltered twice, ending the round after Clever answered a second question right, but Murray answered incorrectly on the next.

The second round ended with Merrimack widening its lead to 180-50.

In the third round, Bedford chose a category first and needed a solid round to stay in the game. The Bulldogs chose “Around the World,” where each answer was the name of a New Hampshire town that was also a city or country around the globe.

Using their New Hampshire geography knowledge to answer with “Berlin,” “Lebanon” and “Bethlehem,” the Bulldogs correctly answered eight of the 10 questions in this category.

The team chose the category “Take a Bow.” The answers in this category all included the word “Bow” or “b-o-w” in order.

The Tomahawks quickly answered the first question with “David Bowie,” and proceeded to get seven more to equal the Bulldogs’ score for the round.

The round ended with the same difference as round two, with Merrimack ahead, 260-130.

In the final round, Merrimack’s quick buzzer speed and wealth of knowledge did not stop. All four contestants for the Tomahawks answered at least one question right to take an even bigger lead at 400-150.

Bedford’s Ruggiero and Arp buzzed in but were often beaten by Merrimack to the question. The Tomahawks eventually let up on the buzzer, allowing Bedford’s Godavarthy and Chausovsky to get one each and allowing Ruggiero to go on a 40-point streak, but the Bulldogs could not catch up.

“I think it’s a testament to all the hard work we put in as a team. I’m proud of us,” said MacIsaac. “That was a really good team we faced, we were very wary of the damage they could do to us, so to put that gap ahead of them, we knew that that was setting us up for greatness.”

“Even more valuable than whatever our point value was, we got to talk to Merrimack, who’s been doing this a long time, and get their tips and tricks,” said Chausovsky. “I think that’s going to be really helpful for practicing next year, they were really nice to us.”

“Bedford played great, they’re a young team, so they’re just going to go on and do even more amazing things,” said Campbell. “But it was really nice for my kids, they were definitely more relaxed this time than they had been in previous rounds and it showed.”

The Tomahawks now move on to the championship match where they will meet Tilton High School.