The 30th annual National Geographic Bee was held in Washington, D.C., and was hosted by Mo Rocca. It is sponsored by the National Geographic Society. The State Bees were held on April 6, where the 54 finalists were determined. The 2018 National Geographic Bee champion was Venkat Ranjan of California.30th National Geographic Bee (23 MAY 2018). "30th Annual National Geographic Bee Winners Nail Tough Questions." URL still valid 20 APR 2023:
State Bees On April 6, 2018, the National Geographic State Bees were held across the 50 states, Washington, D.C., the Atlantic Territories, the Pacific Territories, and the Department of Defense. Fifty-four State or Territory level Champions were determined. In 2018, the prize for winning the state bee has been raised, as $200 is now given to the winner instead of $100, the old prize. The winners have also received a National Geographic Visual Atlas of the World, Second Edition. Second- and third-place winners received $150 and $100, respectively. The state preliminary rounds (there were 8 total) consisted of rounds about U.S. geography, international geography, current events, national birds, protecting the environment, Weird but True, and a "GeoChallenge". The GeoChallenge was a True/False round where a statement would be made about a U.S. state's population, GDP, or size, comparing it to another country, and the student would have to say if it was True or False. For example, one question was "Virginia has a higher GDP than Portugal, True or False?"-the answer is true. All 54 regional champions received an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete at the national competition from May 20–23. The National Geographic Bee is an academic competition for 4th-8th grade students at: "public schools, private schools, and homeschools in the United States and its territories, as well as the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS).National Geographic Education Blog (19 MAY 2018). National Geographic Bee. NG URL still valid 21 APR 2023: National Geographic Society Newsroom (28 MAR 2019). NG Bee 30th Anniversary Resized: About NG Society. URL still valid 20 APR 2023:
State Champions as National Contestants (T=Tie) StateNameSchoolCity/TownGradePlaceChristian MartinEchols Middle SchoolNorthport8thT-30thRiley GrossOcean View Elementary SchoolAnchorage6thT-45thGayatri KaimalBASIS Tucson North SchoolTucson7thT-4thWesley BonnerLake Hamilton Junior High SchoolHot Springs8thT-34th Atlantic TerritoriesDiego CuretSt. John's SchoolSan Juan8thT-53rdVenkat RanjanWindemere Ranch Middle SchoolSan Ramon8th1stGarrett FleischmannStargate Middle SchoolThornton7thT-22ndJames LeoneMiddlesex Middle SchoolDarien8thT-17thJeremiah RaybanCab Calloway School of the ArtsWilmington7thT-24th Department of DefenseAlex DanielsSeoul Am Middle SchoolSeoul, South Korea7thT-12thMax GaronSidwell Friends Middle SchoolWashington8thT-12thKaylan PatelWindermere Preparatory SchoolWindermere6thT-17thVishal SareddyRiverwatch Middle SchoolSuwanee8th3rdWilliam ChenAikahi ElementaryKailua6thT-38thVincent GiordanoLowell Scott Middle SchoolBoise8thT-42ndTy JonesCrestwood SchoolParis8thT-38thJonathon ElliottGriffith Middle SchoolGriffith7thT-30thKavya KalathurPleasant Valley Junior High SchoolLeClaire8thT-17thWyatt BoydHocker Grove Middle SchoolShawnee7thT-24thCase W. GrillotHighlands Middle SchoolFort Thomas8thT-24thAndrew MinagarCaddo Middle SchoolShreveport7thT-34thColin AponteHancock Co. Area HomeschoolersBlue Hill8thT-42ndAlan ZhangMount View Middle SchoolMarriottsville8thT-45thAtreya MallannaJoseph Estabrook Elementary SchoolLexington5th7thPaarth SharmaMoorsbridge Elementary SchoolPortage5thT-12thNicholas PetersonSt. John Baptist SchoolNew Brighton8thT-24thJacob HollandLong Beach Middle SchoolLong Beach8thT-38thJackson CooperChrist The King SchoolUniversity City7thT-45thCaleb MarkYellowstone County Home EducatorsBillings8thT-53rdQuentin BauerCentral Middle SchoolOmaha7thT-45thEmmanuel Gayton-VargasCarson Valley Middle SchoolGardnerville7thT-45thSean ChengCooperative Middle SchoolStratham8th10thAnoushka BuddhikotBridgewater-Raritan Middle SchoolBridgewater8th2ndLakshay SoodAlbuquerque AcademyAlbuquerque7thT-12thNicholas SarrisWest Hollow Middle SchoolMelville8thT-45thJonathan SongSalem Middle SchoolApex8th6thKrishna KamalakannanDiscovery Middle SchoolFargo8th11thSaket PochirajuOrange Middle SchoolLewis Center8thT-8thDyllon WheelerEpic Charter SchoolsOklahoma City8thT-45thAshwin SivakumarOregon Episcopal SchoolPortland8thT-4th Pacific TerritoriesNapu Mesa BlasLuis P. Untalan Middle SchoolBarrigada7thT-34thArnab SircarCharles F. Patton Middle SchoolKennett Square8thT-17thMaximus TerraAlan Shawn Feinstein Middle SchoolCoventry8thT-38thSam HenshawMoultrie Middle SchoolMt. Pleasant7thT-22ndOwen FinkBridgewater-Emery SchoolBridgewater7thT-34thAditya NarayananRiverdale Elementary SchoolGermantown6thT-30thNihar JangaCanyon Ridge Middle SchoolAustin7thT-8thFelix KeilSalt Lake Arts AcademySalt Lake City8thT-17thMary FowlerEastern Vermont HomeschoolerHartland7thT-45thCaleb HinesAshburn HomeschoolersAshburn8thT-24thIhsan LisharSpiritridge Elementary SchoolBellevue5thT-12ndJoss PoteetWildwood Middle SchoolShenandoah Junction7thT-24thHansen JinKromrey Middle SchoolMiddleton8th16thPreston BuehlerStar Valley Middle SchoolAfton8thT-30th
Preliminary Rounds & Final Competition The 54 state champions competed in the preliminary rounds held from May 21–22, 2018. This part of the contest consisted of 10 oral rounds as well as a written portion.
The top 10 contestants with the highest scores in the preliminary rounds competed in the final round, which was held on May 23, 2018. Venkat Ranjan from California was the champion, with Anoushka Buddhikot from New Jersey coming 2nd, and Vishal Sareddy from Georgia placing third.National Geographic (24 MAY 2018). 2018 National Geographic Bee Final Competition. National Geographic Education: Video. URL still valid 20 APR 2023: PR Newswire (30 MAY 2018). Congratulations to 30th National Geographic Bee Champions. North South Foundation. URL still valid 20 APR 2023:
+ National Championship Final ContestantsNameStatePreliminary Round ScoresFinal PlacingSean Cheng19/20 (10/10 + 9/10)10thGayatri Kaimal18/20 (10/10 + 8/10)4thVenkat Ranjan18/20 (9/10 + 9/10)1stAtreya Mallanna18/20 (10/10 + 8/10)7thAnoushka Buddhikot18/20 (10/10 + 8/10)2ndJonathan Song18/20 (8/10 + 10/10)6thSaket Pochiraju18/20 (9/10 + 9/10)8thVishal Sareddy17/20 (8/10 + 9/10)3rdAshwin Sivakumar17/20 (8/10 + 9/10)4thNihar Janga17/20 (10/10 + 7/10)8th Krishna Kamalakannan, of North Dakota, also finished with 17 out of 20 points but was eliminated by a tiebreaker test the students had taken specifically for the purpose of breaking ties.
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