By jeanette m. Eng
Staff Writer
MARLBORO — If you know what state the Yucca Mountains are in or perhaps where an invasive species of predatory fish was found in May 2002, you would have had a good shot at winning the Marlboro leg of the National Geographic Bee.
At noon on Jan. 15, seven seventh-grade finalists anxiously awaited the commencement of the Marlboro Middle School Geography Bee, part of the first round of a nationwide competition that eventually winds up with a national champion.
According to a press release, for the 15th year the National Geographic Society is holding the National Geographic Bee for students in the fourth through eighth grades in thousands of schools across America.
According to the release, the winners then go on to take a written test that is submitted to the National Geographic Society. Top scorers on the test advance to the state finals on April 4, all across the nation. In New Jersey, the final will be held at Rutgers University. The winners of each state contest advance to the national contest, which will be held in Washington, D.C., on May 20-21. The national winner will receive a $25,000 college scholarship and a lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society.
The seven competitors in Marlboro, however, did not seem fazed by the scope of this competition; perhaps because they were already winners.
The seven 12- and 13-year-old students had already succeeded through preliminary contests in their social studies classes and in subsequent quad competitions which named them representatives of each of the seven quads in the middle school.
Oly Khowash, Paula Shulman, Josh Willner, Danielle Weitzman, Jeremy Goldman, Mark Monday and Josh Sandler were the seven quad champions.
Having been quizzed on everything from the heights of mountain ranges to the climates of bordering countries, the seven students were nervous and excited.
"I went to the National Geographic Web site and downloaded last year’s geography bee," Shulman said, explaining how she had prepared for the day.
Others, however, were keeping the pressure at a minimum.
"I don’t care if I win," Weitzman said. "It’s already an honor to be here representing my quad."
Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ) was invited to moderate the event. Holt opened the competition with questions about U.S. geography, during which all of the competitors were allowed to look at a blank map of the United States. The next round of questions were in the same arena, but did not allow the use of a map.
By the third round, only Sandler, Khowash, Weitzman, Goldman and Monday remained, answering questions such as "The Freedom House … is in which city?" Knowash answered correctly with "Philadelphia."
Questions such as "Fort McHenry … where Francis Scott Key was inspired to write ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ is in the harbor of what city in Maryland?" and "The Guadalupe River flows past … in which state?" eliminated two more students, putting Sandler in third-place.
Soon, only Khowash and Weitzman remained, marking the time to begin the championship round which would lead to a winner. The last question allowed both girls 15 seconds to write an answer on a piece of paper and simultaneously show their answers.
"The currencies of Mexico and Argentina have the same name, but bear different values," Holt said. "What is the name of this currency?"
When Weitzman turned over her paper to reveal the correct answer, "peso," she was declared the winner of the bee based on her total number of correct answers in the final round. Khowash, who had missed a question in the final round, was declared the runner-up.
With that, Weitzman received her gold medal bearing the words "National Geographic Bee."
"I’m really excited," Weitzman said. "This is very surreal right now."
She didn’t have much time to digest the "surrealness," however, because according to social studies teacher Chris Sturm, who coordinated the bee, Weitzman would have to take the written test right away and get it in the mail.
Marlboro Middle School administrators will be notified in March as to whether Weitzman scored among the top 100 students in the state and earned a place in the state finals.
Holt commended all seven participants on their sportsmanship.
"Those were some tough questions," he said. "They had to know their history as well as their geography."