Canfield students compete in recent geography bee final

NINE STUDENTS with serious faces were seated before a backdrop of a huge world map for the geography bee final Jan. 8 at Canfield Middle School.

The seventh-grade students from Jeff Medved's and Bob Bloem's geography classes were all classroom champions. The competition and questions were part of the National Geographic Bee and followed National Geographic Society standards.

Ryan Brock, Chase Williams, Josh Forbes, Robbie Astin, Nick Keough, Katie Chissie, Jessica Jeske, Shane Haugen and Brenda Mulvey listened intently while Medved read the rules. The first round centered on National Historic and Scenic Trails of the United States. Four contestants had incorrect answers.

In the second round, all nine were given the same question, asking them what harbor Ellis Island was in. Four did not correctly identify New York Harbor. Brenda, who had run out of time, only had "New" written on her paper, which required a discussion by the judges. They had to disallow it.

By the third round Josh, Jessica and Shane were eliminated. Not long afterward, Katie and Brenda were out. That left four boys for the fourth round.

All were asked to answer a question regarding what state a massive wildfire in Glacier National Park occurred. Chase was the only one to correctly identify Montana, which moved him into the final round. The other three boys had to battle it out for the other spot.

"Quite a nail-biter," said Medved, the event's facilitator. "I get worked up over it every year."

Robbie, who knew that the Kissimmee River, which flows into Lake Okeechobee, was in Florida, moved into the final spot against Chase.

The two were asked the same three questions. The first question was looking for the state that Kitty Hawk is in. Chase got it right - North Carolina - but Robbie missed it. The second question asked which country that was once a part of British India had used a language called Urdue. Chase once again answered correctly (Pakistan) but his opponent did not. A slight grin came over his face.

"I just know that stuff," Chase said. "I travel sometimes. I went to some Pacific Island - I don't know where it is - and Canada and Mexico."

Chase will now take a written test proctored by Medved. If he has one of the top 100 scores in Idaho, he will go to the state championship in April. The state winner will proceed to the national championship in Washington, D.C., which is hosted by Jeopardy's Alex Trebek. The national winner will receive a $25,000 scholarship from National Geographic.

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