A little German goes a long way as Beachy claims Hiland geography bee title
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
The super spy has been to Athens, Greece to see the Parthenon, to China to explore the Great Wall, to Arizona to traverse the Grand Canyon and viewed Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro.
All of those exotic locales and treasured world wonders were possible questions for the annual geography bee at Hiland Middle School on Tuesday, Dec. 6.
A total of 10 students participated in the event, which took place in the Hiland High School auditorium, pitting the wits and knowledge of each student against the others in a battle to stay alive by answering questions pertaining to world geography.
With the pressure of performing under great scrutiny — basically the entire middle school population, as each contestant took center stage to answer questions, competitors began bowing out, leaving just four students to compete for the honor of being tabbed the 2011 Hiland Middle School Geography Bee champion.
Miranda Somers, Ben Beachy, Dakota Yoder and returning Hiland champion Brady Schlabach were left to duke it out. In the end, it would be Beachy, one of only three seventh-grade students in the competition, and Schlabach, who would go head-to-head.
It took the final three-question portion of the quiz and then some, as both answered two of the three questions correctly, forcing an overtime, single-question elimination round. On the first question, which was “Cologne Cathedral, the largest gothic church in Northern Europe, is located in the Rhineland regions of what country?,” Beachy correctly identified Germany, thus pulling off the upset and claiming the 2011 Hiland Middle School geography bee championship.
The grin on Beachy’s face following the victory showed what the title meant to him, although, as with any contest in which you have hundreds of eyes watching you, the nerves always play a part.
Schlabach said that nerves didn’t play a role in this year’s competition, at least not to the extent that they did last year. With a title under his belt, he came in feeling more confident about his chances.
Beachy, on the other hand, was not as sure about his chances of victory.
“I’m one of three seventh-graders against seven eighth-graders, and (Brady) won last year, so I didn’t expect to win,” said Beachy. “It was very nerve-racking.”
Beachy actually thought he had been eliminated earlier in the competition when three of the final four contestants all missed. However, because the bee is a collective total of answers, he remained alive to play on.
That means that Beachy will now take the same path as Schlabach last year.
The school-level bee was the first round in the 24th annual National Geographic Bee, which is sponsored by Google, with thousands of schools around the United States and in the five U.S. territories participating. The school winners, including Beachy, will now take a written test; up to 100 of the top scorers in each state will be eligible to compete in their state bee later this spring.
The National Geographic Society will provide an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. for state champions and teacher-escorts to participate in the National Geographic Bee national championship in May. The first-place national winner will receive a $25,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership in the Society, and a trip to the Galapagos Islands, courtesy of Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic.
Did last year’s champion have any advice for the rookie newcomer?
“Study a little, but last year, most of the questions weren’t even geography,” said Schlabach of the next step of the bee. “There’s a lot of logic that goes into it.”
Beachy agreed, noting, “By using the clues she gives you, you have to eliminate a lot of the other countries, so there is fewer to pick from.”
As for his final question, Beachy knew about Cologne, but couldn’t remember exactly where it was. “I went blank, but I thought it was in Germany, so I guessed Germany,” said Beachy with a grin.
Many of the questions pertained to the United States, which both finalists agreed was good for them.
Geography bee moderator and middle school history teacher Ginny Steiner said that the two were great representatives for Hiland, and that the top 10 competing were all great students.
“There’s a lot of pressure for the kids, but these 10 finalists all outperformed their classmates, so they have nothing to be embarrassed about once they get up here in front of their classmates,” said Steiner.
Steiner creates a seven-round competition, and the 10 deserving students seated up front in the auditorium are the ones who came out of that contest at the top of the list.
As for Beachy and Schlabach, Steiner said, “they are both top-notch students, both very smart kids who study.”
The super spy has been to Athens, Greece to see the Parthenon, to China to explore the Great Wall, to Arizona to traverse the Grand Canyon and viewed Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro.
All of those exotic locales and treasured world wonders were possible questions for the annual geography bee at Hiland Middle School on Tuesday, Dec. 6.
A total of 10 students participated in the event, which took place in the Hiland High School auditorium, pitting the wits and knowledge of each student against the others in a battle to stay alive by answering questions pertaining to world geography.
With the pressure of performing under great scrutiny — basically the entire middle school population, as each contestant took center stage to answer questions, competitors began bowing out, leaving just four students to compete for the honor of being tabbed the 2011 Hiland Middle School Geography Bee champion.
Miranda Somers, Ben Beachy, Dakota Yoder and returning Hiland champion Brady Schlabach were left to duke it out. In the end, it would be Beachy, one of only three seventh-grade students in the competition, and Schlabach, who would go head-to-head.
It took the final three-question portion of the quiz and then some, as both answered two of the three questions correctly, forcing an overtime, single-question elimination round. On the first question, which was “Cologne Cathedral, the largest gothic church in Northern Europe, is located in the Rhineland regions of what country?,” Beachy correctly identified Germany, thus pulling off the upset and claiming the 2011 Hiland Middle School geography bee championship.
The grin on Beachy’s face following the victory showed what the title meant to him, although, as with any contest in which you have hundreds of eyes watching you, the nerves always play a part.
Schlabach said that nerves didn’t play a role in this year’s competition, at least not to the extent that they did last year. With a title under his belt, he came in feeling more confident about his chances.
Beachy, on the other hand, was not as sure about his chances of victory.
“I’m one of three seventh-graders against seven eighth-graders, and (Brady) won last year, so I didn’t expect to win,” said Beachy. “It was very nerve-racking.”
Beachy actually thought he had been eliminated earlier in the competition when three of the final four contestants all missed. However, because the bee is a collective total of answers, he remained alive to play on.
That means that Beachy will now take the same path as Schlabach last year.
The school-level bee was the first round in the 24th annual National Geographic Bee, which is sponsored by Google, with thousands of schools around the United States and in the five U.S. territories participating. The school winners, including Beachy, will now take a written test; up to 100 of the top scorers in each state will be eligible to compete in their state bee later this spring.
The National Geographic Society will provide an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. for state champions and teacher-escorts to participate in the National Geographic Bee national championship in May. The first-place national winner will receive a $25,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership in the Society, and a trip to the Galapagos Islands, courtesy of Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic.
Did last year’s champion have any advice for the rookie newcomer?
“Study a little, but last year, most of the questions weren’t even geography,” said Schlabach of the next step of the bee. “There’s a lot of logic that goes into it.”
Beachy agreed, noting, “By using the clues she gives you, you have to eliminate a lot of the other countries, so there is fewer to pick from.”
As for his final question, Beachy knew about Cologne, but couldn’t remember exactly where it was. “I went blank, but I thought it was in Germany, so I guessed Germany,” said Beachy with a grin.
Many of the questions pertained to the United States, which both finalists agreed was good for them.
Geography bee moderator and middle school history teacher Ginny Steiner said that the two were great representatives for Hiland, and that the top 10 competing were all great students.
“There’s a lot of pressure for the kids, but these 10 finalists all outperformed their classmates, so they have nothing to be embarrassed about once they get up here in front of their classmates,” said Steiner.
Steiner creates a seven-round competition, and the 10 deserving students seated up front in the auditorium are the ones who came out of that contest at the top of the list.
As for Beachy and Schlabach, Steiner said, “they are both top-notch students, both very smart kids who study.”
Published: December 6, 2011
