The 2017 Virginia State Finals of the National Geographic Bee were held on March 31 at Longwood University in Farmville. The eight preliminary rounds produced19 competitors with perfect scores. A challenging tiebreaker round saw the following ten students reach the Final Round.
- Rohil Bhinge, Frost Middle School, Fairfax
- Samik Bhinge, Mosby Woods Elementary School, Fairfax
- Austin Copeland, J Lupton Simpson Middle School, Leesburg
- Rubaiya Emran, Edlin School, Reston
- Sahishnu Hanumansetty, Farmwell Station Middle School, Ashburn
- Daniel Lian, Churchill Road Elementary School, McLean
- Joshua Lian, Longfellow Middle School. Falls Church
- Reese McKee, Buford Middle School, Charlottesville
- Anish Susarla, Belmont Ridge Middle School, Leesburg
- Pablo Vega, Jefferson-Houston School, Alexandria
From this group emerged the first, second and third place winners:
Reese McKee, Rohil Bhinge, and Anish Susarla
Reese took third place in the Final Round and Rohil and Anish tied in the Championship Round. A championshipe tiebreaker round lasted through 29 questions before the State Champion was determined.
Anish Susarla, Virginia State Champion
Rohil Bhinge, Runner-up
Donna Fontaine was once again the State Bee Coordinator. Dr. Bill Carstensen, Virginia Tech Department of Geography, served as moderator for the Final Rounds.
Congratulations to all participants, winners of their respective school’s geography bees.
Congratulations to Reese, Rohil, and Anish for making it the final three in the State Bee.
