For many folks, trying to give simple directions to a tourist on how to get from Millersburg to Big Prairie is hard enough as they try to recall road numbers and landmarks along the way.

For the students involved in the annual National Geographic Bee at Lakeville, it gets a little more complicated than just knowing where the corner drugstore or local landmarks are.

Eleven top-notch students took part in the Lakeville Elementary geography bee held at the school Jan. 11, and fifth-grader Sarah Friedrich came away the victor, outperforming the other 10 contestants, including a final duel with fourth-grader Drake Barnes, who finished runner-up.

Friedrich captured the school-level competition of the National Geographic Bee, keeping alive her chance to become a $25,000 college scholarship winner at the national bee.

Among the many challenging queries, which students had to answer both orally and in written form, were questions from all around the United States and even in lands abroad.

If you haven’t seen a geography bee, you might be amazed at how little you know concerning the planet.

The next step for Friedrich will be a written test in which she will answer 100 questions based on geography from both the United States and around the globe.

Each state will take its top 100 scores on that test, and those students will then compete at the State bee March 30.

Should Friedrich move on, she would receive an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C. for the May 22-24 finals, where Jeopardy host Alex Trebek will present the questions to the students who were able to study and fight their way through to the national level.

In addition to the $25,000 scholarship, the winner of the national bee will receive a free trip to the Galapagos Islands.

Congratulations and good luck to Sarah.