NATION : Girl Wins Geography Contest
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WASHINGTON — An 11-year-old Pennsylvania girl, the only female among 10 finalists, walked away today with the National Geography Bee championship and a $25,000 college scholarship.
Susannah Batko-Yovino, a sixth-grader from Altoona, Pa., answered a sudden-death question: “Mt. Erebus is a volcano on which continent?”
“Antarctica,” Susannah replied, giving the correct answer to the question missed by 13-year-old Tim Forrest, an eighth-grader in Goshen, N.Y.
Tim won second place and a $15,000 college scholarship, while the third-place $10,000 scholarship went to Martin Hohner, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Chicago.
“I think that more girls should get involved in this kind of stuff rather than in majorettes and cheerleading and stuff,” Susannah said, adding, “I’m not into that.”
Susannah said she’s always had an interest in geography and maps, “but mostly it’s just ‘cause I read, read, read, read, read.”
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