The 55 state-level winners in this year's National Geographic Bee, an academic competition that tests U.S. students' knowledge of geography, have been announced by the National Geographic Society.
By winning the National Geographic Bee in their respective states or U.S. territories, the finalists qualified for the national finals in Washington, D.C., in May.
Each state competition was the culmination of a process that started with some five million fourth through eighth graders in nearly 15,000 schools across the United States.
To qualify for the state National Geographic Bee, each student had to win his or her school's Geographic Bee. They then had to earn one of the top hundred scores in the state on a written qualifying test.
The first prize at the state bee is U.S. $100 and an expenses-paid trip to the national finals on May 24 and 25. The national champion will be awarded a U.S. $25,000 college scholarship. Second- and third-place winners receive $15,000 and $10,000 scholarships.
The championship round will air May 25 on the National Geographic Channel and afterward on public television stations. (Check local listings for day and time.)
The National Geographic Bee was started 17 years ago to help promote geography education. Bee champions pore over newspapers, atlases, textbooks, and Web sites to gather a vast knowledge of geography.
"National Geographic employees would have a hard time competing against these bright youngsters," said Mary Lee Elden, director of the National Geographic Bee. "Now the hard part for the staff of the National Geographic Bee is preparing questions [for the national round] that challenge these geo-whizzes."
National Geographic Bee
2005 State Winners
Alabama: William Moody, Lee-Scott Academy, Auburn
Alaska: Leif Johnson, Teeland Middle School, Wasilla
Arizona: Kevin Bertram, Valley Academy Charter School, Phoenix
Arkansas: Sydney Rasch, Cabot Junior High School South, Cabot
California: Peter Johnston, St. Simon School, Los Altos
Colorado: Ben Black, Peak to Peak Charter School, Lafayette
Connecticut: Liam McCarthy, Middlesex Middle School, Darien
Delaware: Bailey Elmore, Sussex Academy of Arts and Sciences, Georgetown
Department of Defense Dependents Schools: Neil-Patrick Villamora, Yokosuka Middle School, Yokosuka, Japan
District of Columbia: Ben Geyer, British School of Washington
Florida: Jesse Weinberg, Ransom Everglades Middle School, Coconut Grove
Georgia: Yeshwanth Kandimalla, Simpson Middle School, Marietta
Hawaii: Michael Kempnich, Emmanuel Lutheran School, Kahului
Idaho: Andrew Leuchtman, Mountain View Middle School, Blackfoot
Illinois: Bonny Jain, Woodrow Wilson Middle School, Moline
Indiana: William Weitzel, Evansville Day School, Evansville
Iowa: Drew Coffin, Northwest Junior High School, Coralville
Kansas: Benjamin Detrixhe, Clifton-Clyde Middle School, Clyde
Kentucky: Matthew Hensley, Beaumont Middle School, Lexington
Louisiana: Stephen Levy, St. Paul School, Covington
Maine: Jonathan Brock, Sanford Junior High School, Sanford
Massachusetts: Krishnan Chandra, West Middle School, Andover
Maryland: Nicholas Sundback, Westland Middle School, Bethesda
Michigan: Jamie Ding, Parcells Middle School, Grosse Pointe Woods
Minnesota: Nathan Cornelius, Marshall Area Christian Home Educators Association
Mississippi: Ryan Ezelle, Union Middle School, Union
Missouri: Matthew Thampy, St. Charles County Homeschoolers
Montana: Michael Capozzoli, Paris Middle School, Great Falls
Nebraska: John Borstelmann, Irving Middle School, Lincoln
Nevada: Paige de Polo, Little Flower School, Reno
New Hampshire: Nicholas Amadeo, David R. Cawley Middle School, Hooksett
New Jersey: Tejas Raje, Crossroads North Middle School, Monmouth Junction
New Mexico: Ian Erickson-Kery, Albuquerque Academy, Albuquerque
New York: Jonathan Katz, Scarsdale Middle School, Scarsdale
North Carolina: Omar Hamad, Daniels Middle School, Raleigh
North Dakota: Eric Moos, Langdon Area Middle School, Langdon
Ohio: Nirbhay Jain, Ottowa Hills Elementary, Toledo
Oklahoma: Vivek Koduri, University School, Tulsa
Oregon: Samuel Brandt, Roosevelt Middle School, Eugene
Pacific Territories: Dorothy Charles, Harvest Christian Academy, Barrigada, Guam
Pennsylvania: Jim Sutter, Hampton Middle School, Allison Park
Puerto Rico: Stephan Coll, American School, Bayamon
Rhode Island: Karan Takhar, The Gordon School, East Providence
South Carolina: Atkinson Dillingham, Westminster Catawba Christian School, Rock Hill
South Dakota: Josh Bucher, Patrick Henry Middle School, Sioux Falls
Tennessee: Cody Simons, Meigs Magnet School, Nashville
Texas: Josh Eslick, Parker County Christian Home Educators
Utah: JeffreyBennett, Midvale Middle School, Midvale
Vermont: Ian Rockwell, Browns River Middle School, Jericho
Virgin Islands: Diamond Ash, Joseph Gomez Elementary School, St. Thomas
Virginia: Ryan Thompson, Thomas Eaton Middle School, Hampton
Washington: Max Sugarman, Pine Lake Middle School, Sammamish
West Virginia: Yiping Wang, Beckley Stratton Middle School, Beckley
Wisconsin: Dustin Becker, Greendale Middle School, Greendale
Wyoming: James Mothersbaugh, Park Elementary School, Casper
Don't Miss a Discovery
Sign up our free newsletter. Every two weeks we'll send you our top news by e-mail (see sample).
|
SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES
|
