2000 Finalists

The victors narrowed the field from an original 55 contestants—the bee champions from all 50 U.S. states and five territories who, in turn, were the frontrunners from an original nationwide field of nearly 5 million students.

The ten national finalists were:

Connecticut: Felix Peng is 13 years old and in the 8th grade at Elisabeth Adams Middle School in Guilford. He was the Connecticut champion in the 1999 National Geographic Bee. His interest in geography began when his parents showed him their birthplace, Taiwan, on a globe.

Georgia: Robert Schleifer is a 14-year-old 8th grade homeschooler from Gillsville, northeast of Atlanta. He represented Georgia in the 1999 National Geographic Bee. He lives on a farm and enjoys training his Border Collie to herd cows. He also enjoys downhill skiing and playing the piano.

Massachusetts: Matt Moran is a 13-year-old 8th grader at Atlantic Middle School in North Quincy. He would like to join the Peace Corps. He most admires both his grandfathers, "one for being a Boston Police officer for nearly 20 years and the other for serving in World War II."

Missouri: George Thampy is a 12-year old 7th grade homeschooler in Maryland Heights, a suburb of St. Louis. Two of his siblings, Mallika and Eapen, have competed at the national level of the National Geographic Bee. He plays the flute and took 3rd place in the National Spelling Bee in 1999.

New York: Nate Mattison is an 11-year-old 6th grader at the H.C. Crittenden Middle School in Armonk, north of New York City. He plays the bassoon and piano. His favorite place to visit is New York City because it’s the "most vibrant and exciting city in the nation."

North Dakota: John Rice is a 12-year-old homeschooled 6th grader in Maddock, near the center of the state. He hopes to work in agriculture. He shows horses with the 4-H club and enjoys hunting and fishing with his father. His favorite place to visit is the Freedom Trail in Boston.

Oregon: Alex King is a 13-year-old 7th grader at Cal Young Middle School in Eugene. He enjoys WWII history, birding, reading, basketball, drawing, and hiking. He hopes to be a writer for National Geographic. His favorite place to visit "is the next place I am going."

Pennsylvania: Matthew Russell is a 12-year-old 6th grader at Fretz Middle School in Bradford, in the northwestern part of the state. He has won statewide chess competitions and also enjoys following the stock market and developing stock portfolios. His favorite author is C. S. Lewis.

South Carolina: Jonathan Janus is a 13-year-old homeschooled 7th grader in Ravenel, outside of Charleston. He hopes someday to be a U.S. Senator. He has played the piano competitively at fine arts festivals and enjoys surfing the Internet. He would most like to visit Switzerland.

Virginia: Steven Young is a 13-year-old 8th grader at Langston Hughes Middle School in Reston, near Washington, D.C. He prepared for the Bee by studying "a shower curtain map, learning all my geography backwards in the shower." He has won awards in the National Mythology Exam.