Wyoming Students to Compete at State Geography Bee Friday at UW

Which capital city, located about 20 miles from the Adriatic Sea, is a major industrial center for Albania? Which state is larger in area, West Virginia or Florida?

These are the types of questions that 37 students ages 10-14 will try to answer correctly during the Wyoming National Geographic State Bee Friday, March 27, at the University of Wyoming Conference Center. Preliminary rounds start at 1 p.m., with the finals scheduled at 3:30 p.m. in Salon C.

The UW Department of Geography and the Wyoming Geographic Alliance will host the event. The state champion will receive $100 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to represent Wyoming in the national championship of the 27th annual National Geographic Bee at National Geographic Society headquarters, May 11-13. The national winner receives a $50,000 scholarship.

To qualify for state competition, school winners took a qualifying written test that was scored by the National Geographic Society. Students scheduled to compete in the Wyoming Geographic Bee, listed by hometown and school represented, are:

Afton -- Robert Choma, Star Valley Middle School.

Big Horn -- Cameron Brown, Big Horn Middle School.

Big Piney -- Sam Hatcher, Big Piney Middle School.

Casper -- Louis Allen, Summit Elementary; Ryan Loghry, CY Middle School; Zachary Nelson, St. Anthony Tri-Parish School; Rachel Schmucker, Dean Morgan Junior High School.

Cheyenne -- Brent Church, McCormick Junior High School; Keyan Mefford-Owens, Pioneer Park Elementary School; Jeremiah O’Bryan, Rossman Elementary School.

Douglas -- Falyn Schmidt, Douglas Middle School.

Dubois -- Jeremiah Bressler, Dubois Middle School.

Etna -- Preston Buehler, Etna Elementary School.

Evanston -- Juan Cerda, North Evanston Elementary School; Hannah Linford, Evanston Middle School; Aidan McGuire, Uinta Meadows Elementary School.

Green River -- Levi Hren, Lincoln Middle School; Rebekka Poling, Monroe Intermediate School; Mia Rosas, Washington Elementary School.

Gillette -- Nora Foster, Prairie Wind Elementary School; Taylor Larson, Campbell County Virtual School; Logan Tucker, Paintbrush Elementary School.

Jackson -- Joshua Hamilton, Jackson Hole Middle School; Quincy Spitzer, Journeys School.

Lander -- Benjamin Hamilton, Baldwin Creek Elementary School; Conrad Keevert, Lander Valley Middle School.

Laramie -- George Yost, Laramie Junior High School.

Lovell -- CJ Lindsay, Lovell Middle School.

Newcastle -- John Barker, Newcastle Middle School.

Ranchester -- Tiffanie Rosenlund, Tongue River Middle School.

Riverton -- Bradon Veach, St. Margaret’s School.

Rock Springs -- Michael Newman, Rock Springs Junior High School; Tyler Wallendorff, Holy Spirit Catholic School; Shiva Yeshlur, Pilot Butte Elementary School.

Upton -- Aidan Coberly, Upton Elementary School; Annika Coberly, Upton Middle School.

Worland -- Aaron Vigil, Worland Middle School.

Wright -- Emma Mochen, Cottonwood Elementary School.