National Geographic Bee Won on Everest Stumper
Well-prepped contestants make 2011 Bee among the longest.
With the well-prepped contestants acing geography questions over and over, it was especially tough to narrow the field in the 23rd annual finals, resulting in one of the longest National Geographic Bees yet.
As in previous years, the Bee was held at National Geographic headquarters and moderated by Alex Trebek of Jeopardy!
Thirteen-year-old Valencic, of Texas's Colleyville Middle School, sailed through his portion of the 119 questions and won it all during a tie breaker featuring 5 final stumpers.
The final question: "Thousands of mountain climbers and trekkers rely on Sherpas to aid their ascent of Mount Everest. The southern part of Mount Everest is located in which Nepalese national park?" Answer: Sagarmatha National Park.
Valencic will get a U.S.