by Dennis Dalman
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.