Hunter Stauffer and Wesley Adolph Win School Geography Bees
Hunter Stauffer and Wesley Adolph Win School Geography Bees
Hunter Stauffer, a seventh grade student at Beloit Junior-Senior High school and Wesley Adolph a sixth grader at Beloit Elementary, won their respective school-level competitions of the National Geographic Bee and a chance at a $50,000 college scholarship should one of them go on to win the national championship. The school-level Bee, at which students answered questions in both oral and written format on United States and world geography, was the first round in the 29th annual National Geographic Bee, which is sponsored by the National Geographic Society.
Earning the right to vie for the school title by placing at the top of their individual class competitions, ten students from fourth through sixth grades participated in the BES competition. Championship round competitors were Hunter and fifth graders, Noah Gerstner and Xander Elam. Other top ten qualifiers include the following: fourth graders, Jackson Cheney, Riley Hilt, and Brooks Jones; fifth grader, Dylan Thompson; and sixth graders, Grady Seyfert, Rebecca Finney, and Braden Francis.
Championship round competitors at the junior high level were Hunter and classmate, Owen Eilert. Other finalists were Lilly Hartman, Landon Kadel, Jacob Porter, Hunter Prochaska, Jackson Rexroat, Wesley Smith, and Jamie Sporleder.
As school champions, Hunter and Wesley will take qualifying tests to determine if they are in the top 100 scorers in Kansas to continue competition at the state level Bee on March 31 in Abilene. Should they go on to win the State Geography Bee, National Geographic will provide an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C., for the national championship rounds May 15-17. The first-place national champion will receive a $50,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership in the Society including a subscription to National Geographic magazine, and a trip to the Galapagos Islands, courtesy of Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic.