2010 State Winners

Since the first National Geography Bee in 1989, millions of students have competed each year for a U.S. $25,000 college scholarship and the honor of being national champion.

The champions have come from diverse backgrounds—ranging from large cities to family farms. They have had varied interests and today are pursuing different educational paths. Among their shared characteristics are the desire to excel and an inherent curiosity about geography and the world around them.

On April 9, 2010 about 100 fourth to eighth graders in each of the 50 states, D.C., U.S. territories and Department of Defense Dependents Schools faced off during the National Geographic State Geography Bees.

The 54 winners listed below will be competing at the May 25-26 championship in Washington, D.C.  Also available:

2010 Bee Yearbook with student photos and bios

2010 State winner videos on YouTube

2010 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BEE STATE WINNERS

ALABAMA
James Niiler, 6th Grade, Rock Quarry Middle School, Tuscaloosa

ALASKA
Nathan Swan, 7th Grade, Interior Distance Education of Alaska - Anchorage

ARIZONA
Arun Yadav, 5th Grade, Greenbrier Elementary School, Glendale

ARKANSAS
Grant Baker, 8th Grade, Alma Middle School, Alma

ATLANTIC TERRITORIES
Jorge Asenjo, 8th Grade, Academia del Perpetuo Socorro, San Juan

CALIFORNIA
Alek Venturino, 8th Grade, Charlotte Wood Middle School, Danville

COLORADO
Isabella Contolini, 6th Grade, Red Rocks Elementary School, Morrison

CONNECTICUT
Darius Mostaghimi, 8th Grade, Walter C. Polson Middle School, Madison

DELAWARE
Varun Wadhwa, 7th Grade, The Independence School, Newark

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DEPENDENTS SCHOOLS
William Miller, 7th Grade, Heidelberg Middle School, Heidelberg, Germany

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Matthew Wilson, 5th Grade, Blessed Sacrament School

FLORIDA
Aadith Moorthy, 8th Grade, Palm Harbor Middle School, Palm Harbor

GEORGIA
Pranav Bhandarkar, 8th Grade, Malcom Bridge Middle School, Bogart

HAWAII
Alexander Fager, 8th Grade, Our Savior Lutheran School, Aiea


IDAHO
Karthik Mouli, 6th Grade, Hillside Junior High School, Boise

ILLINOIS
Anton Karpovich, 8th Grade, Walter R. Sundling Junior High School, Palatine

INDIANA
Ian Markham, 8th Grade, Nativity of Our Savior Catholic School, Portage

IOWA
Johannes Gassman, 7th Grade, Ames Homeschool Assistance Program, Ames

KANSAS
Stefan Petrovic, 6th Grade, Broken Arrow Elementary School, Lawrence

KENTUCKY
Nolan Phillips, 8th Grade, Montessori Middle School of Kentucky, Lexington

LOUISIANA
James Stoner, 6th Grade, Christian Brothers School, New Orleans

MAINE
James Davis III, 8th Grade, Sabattus Central School, Sabattus

MARYLAND
Thomas Naatz, 6th Grade, Norwood School, Bethesda

MASSACHUSETTS
Abhinav Kurada, 6th Grade, Advanced Math and Science Academy, Marlborough

MICHIGAN
Jacob Tanner, 7th Grade, Saline Middle School, Saline

MINNESOTA
Gopi Ramanathan, 6th Grade, Sartell Middle School, Sartell

MISSISSIPPI
Mamadou Fadiga, 8th Grade, Margaret Green Junior High School, Cleveland

MISSOURI
Joshua Vogel, 7th Grade, Trinity Lutheran School, Cape Girardeau

MONTANA
Erik Ellis, 8th Grade, Yellowstone County Home Educators, Hardin



NEBRASKA
Zebulon Cooper, 8th Grade, Prague Public School, Prague

NEVADA
Alexander Wade, 6th Grade, Davidson Academy, Reno

NEW HAMPSHIRE
David Ferreira, 8th Grade, Amherst Middle School, Amherst

NEW JERSEY
David Yin, 8th Grade, Thomas R. Grover Middle School, Princeton Junction

NEW MEXICO
Joseph Couls, 7th Grade, Our Lady of the Annunciation School, Albuquerque

NEW YORK
Richard Zhang, 8th Grade, Jericho Middle School, Jericho

NORTH CAROLINA
Logan Shaut, 8th Grade, Blowing Rock Elementary School, Blowing Rock

NORTH DAKOTA
Micah Mabin, 8th Grade, Wachter Middle School, Bismarck

OHIO
Evan Nichols, 7th Grade, St. Hilary School, Fairlawn

OKLAHOMA
Nicholas Payne, 8th Grade, Pioneer Junior High School, Waukomis

OREGON
Samuel Coste, 7th Grade, Greater Salem Home Educators, Salem

PACIFIC TERRITORIES
Matteo Tanaka, 8th Grade, Bishop Baumgartner Memorial Catholic School, Guam

PENNSYLVANIA
Jacob Zimmer, 7th Grade, James S. Wilson Middle School, Erie

RHODE ISLAND
Oliver Lucier, 8th Grade, Curtis Corner Middle School, Wakefield

SOUTH CAROLINA
Kelvin Davis, 6th Grade, Williston-Elko Middle School, Williston


SOUTH DAKOTA
Alex Kimn, 7th Grade, George S. Mickelson Middle School, Brookings

TENNESSEE
Simon Crow, 8th Grade, Robertsville Middle School, Oak Ridge

TEXAS
Tiné Valencic, 6th Grade, Colleyville Middle School, Colleyville

UTAH
Anthony Cheng, 6th Grade, Peruvian Park Elementary School, Sandy

VERMONT
William Hodgson-Walker, 7th Grade, Charlotte Central School, Charlotte

VIRGINIA
James Stiff, 8th Grade, St. Mary's Catholic School, Richmond

WASHINGTON
Alec Sjoholm, 6th Grade, Terrace Park Elementary School, Mountlake Terrace

WEST VIRGINIA
Andrew Braun, 8th Grade, Hurricane Middle School, Hurricane

WISCONSIN
Vansh Jain, 6th Grade, Minocqua-Hazelhurst-Lake Tomahawk Elementary School, Minocqua

WYOMING
Zachery Dubisz, 8th Grade, Star Valley Middle School, Afton