by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Three Sartell students were the top winners in the school-wide Geography Bee Jan. 11 at Sartell Middle School, and all three will have a chance to take a test that could propel them to further victories.
The overall first-place winner at Sartell Middle School was Janagan Ramanathan. SMS students Grant Winter and Connor Hacker took second and third place, respectively.
In the Oak Ridge Elementary School category, the first-place champ was Joseph Meyerhofer, with Nathan Bamberg taking second.
Among Pine Meadow Elementary School contenders, Kaazim Sabir earned first place, Annabelle Tautges second place and Emma Newman third place.
At the Geography Bee, SMS social-studies teacher Jennifer Richason served as moderator; scorekeeper was SHS student Dawson Rogers; event coordinator was Lori Dornburg; and SMS Principal Kurt Stumpf presented the students with their awards.
The three top winners will take a test April 1 which could qualify them for statewide competition. The top winners statewide will have a chance to compete in the National Geographic Bee in spring, a chance to win a $50,000 scholarship.
Besides the top three SMS winners (Ramanathan, Winter, Hacker), other SMS participants included the following:
Grade 5: Carleena Byrd, Grace Dauer, Noah Fleischhacker, Cullen Grahek and Brice Kadlec. Dauer was named an alternate to the state competition.
Grade 6: Delaney Dinger and Aaron Meyerhofer.
Grade 7: Will Yu.
Grade 8: Luc Westling.
The Sartell High School winners of the schoolwide Geography Bee are (top photo, left to right) Janagan Ramathan, first place; Connor Hacker, third place; and Grant Winter, second place. At right is Sartell Middle School Principal Kurt Stumpf, who presented the awards to the winners. The Oak Ridge Elementary School winners (lower left photo) are Joseph Meyerhofer, first place; and Nathan Bamberg, second place; and the winners from Pine Meadow Elementary School (lower right photo) are Annabelle Tautges, second place; Emma Newman, third place; and Kaazim Sabir, first place.
