2004 PA Geographic Bee Results

"In 1997, a volcano destroyed the capital city of Plymouth on which Caribbean island?"

Olivia Colangelo, an eighth grader at Franklin Regional Middle School in Murrysville, PA, correctly answered "Montserrat," and edged out eighth grader Kimberly Bega from Christian Life Academy in Seneca to win the 2004 state-level competition of the National Geographic Bee, which is sponsored by the National Geographic Society and ING.  Michael Degnan, an eighth grader from Solomon-Plains Jr. High School in Plains took third place in the Bee.

Rounding out the Top Ten Finalists were Stephen Gliatto (6th grade, Waldron Mercy Academy, Merion), Sean Henson (8th grade, Indiana Jr. High School, Indiana), Huayu Liu (7th grade, Radnor Middle School, Wayne), Daniel Magalotti (8th grade, Jefferson Middle School, Pittsburgh), Joseph Papa (8th grade, St. Bartholomew School, Pittsburgh), Gregory Rittenhouse (8th grade, St. Jane Frances School, Easton), and R. Cameron Sooby (7th grade, Our Lady of Grace School, Penndel).

This year's competition was particularly keen.  Eleven students earned a perfect score in the Preliminary Competition, necessitating a tie-breaker to determine the ten finalists. Benjamin Aurand (7th grade, Moravian Middle School, Bethlehem) placed eleventh, and we hope to see him again next year.  Special congratulations go out to Kimberly Bega and Bradley Weaver (8th grade, Annville-Cleona Middle School, Annville), who qualified for the State Competition every year they were eligible--starting as fourth-graders in 2000!

One hundred students qualified for this year's Pennsylvania Geographic Bee, though one student was unable to attend because the family's car broke down on the way to the competition.  All 99 participants received certificates of achievement and t-shirts from the National Geographic Society.  The top three winners received certificates, cash awards, and National Geographic globes.  This year, the other finalists received book awards from Franklin Maps in King of Prussia.

State Bee Coordinator Jodi Vender (Penn State) gratefully acknowledges the tremendous institutional support offered again this year by Shippensburg University and its Department of Geography and Earth Science, as well as the assistance of dedicated volunteers from the Pennsylvania Geographical Society, Pennsylvania Geographic Alliance, and students from Shippensburg and Penn State.

Officials for the 2004 PA Bee included:
deLyn Alumbaugh, Dr. Mike Applegarth, Dr. John Benhart, Dr. Scott Drzyzga, Jennifer Engle, Jess Eshelman, Dr. Alison Feeney, Dr. Tom Feeney, Jason Freeman, Jamie Heimbach, Amy Irvin, Dr. Paul Marr, Jeannette McBryan, Katie Mohn, Joe Rathuon, Dr. Jan Smith, Dr. Diane Stanitski, Kristen Tremblay, Dr. Kay Williams (all from Shippensburg University); Adam Bender, Anna Brendle, Dr. Roger Downs, Ashley Leasure, Armand Silva, Jodi Vender, Jonathan Witcoski (all from Penn State University), Mary Braccilli (Lehigh-Carbon Community College); Dr. Mary Graham (York College of PA); Ed Grode (PA Geographical Society); John Katana (Indiana School District); Frank Kerch (Shippensburg Area School District); Liz Lewis (Donegal School District); and William Murray (Mechanicsburg Area School District).

Olivia Colangelo advanced to the National Geographic Bee Finals, which took place in Washington, DC on May 25-26, 2004.  There she made it to the Tiebraker Competition, one step away from the top-ten Final Competition.