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North Branch Area Middle School students recently competed in the Geography Bee. Nearly four hundred students, grades five through eight, participated in the preliminary rounds. Final round was held Wednesday, Dec. 15.

Finalists included Emma Egelkraut, Tiana Lenzmeier, Levi Gomes, Will Young, Greta Dupslaff, Ryan Schaal, Hunter Sahlberg, Siglind Dial, Austin Macdonald, and Maverick Pate.

Seventh grader Levi Gomes correctly answered the final question in a championship tie breaker: The site of an ancient lighthouse on the island of Pharos attracts visitors to Alexandria, a port city in which African country? In early January, Gomes will take a 70-question written test that will be submitted to the National Geographic Society to give him a chance to qualify for state competition in April. (The answer to the championship question is "Egypt.")

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