LANGDON, N.H. (MyKeeneNow) After months of early-morning practices and years of building institutional knowledge, Fall Mountain Regional High School’s Quiz Bowl team is preparing to compete on New Hampshire PBS’s Granite State Challenge, the state’s longest-running academic quiz show.

Fall Mountain secured its place in the 44th season of the competition with a wildcard victory over Lin-Wood Regional High School in December, advancing the Wildcats into a 16-team field drawn from more than 90 eligible high schools statewide. Fall Mountain is the only school in both Cheshire and Sullivan counties competing this season.

The team is scheduled to face Nashua High School South Saturday in a bracket-style matchup, with winners advancing toward the championship.

The Wildcats are coached by Nick Belsky, a social studies teacher who took over the school’s Quiz Bowl program when he joined Fall Mountain in 1997. Belsky said students have been preparing since September, meeting daily before classes begin.

The on-air team includes captain Ben Weightman, a senior who has competed for all four years of high school, along with seniors Lennon Doescher and Josh Town and junior Rylie Porter. Alternates Keegan White and Nate Sudsbury, both juniors, round out the lineup.

For Weightman, geography and history are his strongest categories, while literature remains a challenge. Still, he said the consistency of daily practice has sharpened his recall across subjects.

“You just hear so much over time,” Weightman said. “After four years, it starts to stick.”

Doescher, a senior who describes himself as a “second-string” scorer, relies on what he calls “trigger words” to quickly narrow down possible answers during competition. His strengths include history and pop culture, while science is his weakest area.

Porter, a junior, joined the team after arriving early to school once she got her driver’s license. She said the competitive aspect — and the daily scorekeeping during practice — kept her coming back.

“I really like to win,” Porter said. “That’s what hooked me.”

The team also competes in the New Hampshire Quiz Bowl League, which features multiple meets and a playoff round each year, helping students sharpen their skills against schools across the state.

Granite State Challenge premiered in 1984 and has featured more than 6,900 students over four decades. Merrimack High School holds the record for championship wins and captured the 2025 title. Past celebrity question readers have included Ken Burns, Tom Bergeron, Mike O’Malley and Stephen Colbert.

Episodes are filmed in January at New Hampshire PBS in Durham and air later in the season. Once taping is complete, broadcast dates are announced online.