# 21st National Geographic Bee

The 21st National Geographic Bee was held in Washington, D.C., on May 20, 2009, sponsored by the National Geographic Society. The winner was Eric Yang of Griffin Middle School in The Colony, Texas, who won a $25,000 college scholarship, lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society and a trip to the Galápagos Islands with National Geographic Bee moderator and Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. The 2nd-place winner was Arjun Kandaswamy of Meadow Park Middle School in Beaverton, Oregon. The 3rd-place winner was Shantan Krovvidi of Ligon Middle School in Raleigh, North Carolina.

## 2009 state champions

| State | Winner's Name | School | City/Town | Grade | Place |
| Alabama | Jonathan Hess | | Tuscaloosa | |
| Alaska | Bethany Lee | | Anchorage | |
| Arizona | Nicholas Farnsworth | | Flagstaff | | Top 10 |
| Arkansas | Zacharay Safley | | Beebe | |
| Atlantic Territories | ? | | | |
| California | Samuel Bressler | | Fullerton | |
| Colorado | Alden Savoca | | Debeque | |
| Connecticut | Robert Chu | | Woodbridge | |
| Delaware | Varun Wadhwa | The Independence School | Newark | 6th |
| Department of Defense | ? | | | |
| District of Columbia | Michael Laskowski | | Washington | |
| Florida | Shiva Kangeyan | | Miami | | Top 10 |
| Georgia | Pranav Bhandarkar | Malcom Bridge Middle School | Bogart | 7th |
| Hawaii | Alex Fager | Our Savior Lutheran School | Aiea | 7th |
| Idaho | Karthik Mouli | Hillside Junior High School | Boise | 5th |
| Illinois | Siva Gangavarapu | | Aurora | | Top 10 |
| Indiana | Ian Markham | Nativity of Our Savior Catholic School | Portage | 7th |
| Iowa | Luc Moisan | | Grinnell | |
| Kansas | Trevor Eggenberger | | Bel Aire | |
| Kentucky | Michael Kamer | | Lexington | |
| Louisiana | Amal De Alwis | | Hammond | |
| Maine | Conor Millard | | Old Town | |
| Maryland | Michael Laskowski | | University Park | |
| Massachusetts | Zaroug Jaleel | | Lexington | | Top 10 |
| Michigan | Kenji Golimlim | Summit Academy | Flat Rock | 8th | Top 10 |
| Minnesota | Cody Baird | Jackson Middle School | Champlin | |
| Mississippi | William Johnston | | Diamondhead | |
| Missouri | Eric Matthews | El Dorado Springs Middle School | El Dorado Springs | |
| Montana | Thomas Culver | | Helena | |
| Nebraska | Erik Ingram | | Bellevue | |
| Nevada | Alexander Wade | Davidson Academy | Reno | 5th |
| New Hampshire | Cooper Lecza | | Bedford | |
| New Jersey | Roey Hadar | | Fair Haven | |
| New Mexico | Nicholas Anderson | | Albuquerque | |
| New York | Aidan Langston | | Brooklyn | |
| North Carolina | Shantan Krovvidi | Ligon Middle School | Raleigh | | 3rd |
| North Dakota | Casey Murphy | | Carrington | |
| Ohio | Nick Merchant | | Dublin | |
| Oklahoma | Nathan Thompson | | Edmond | |
| Oregon | Arjun Kandaswamy | Meadow Park Middle School | Beaverton | | 2nd |
| Pacific Territories | ? | | | |
| Pennsylvania | Henry Glitz | St. Bernard School | Pittsburgh | |
| Rhode Island | Oliver Lucier | Curtis Corner Middle School | Wakefield | 7th |
| South Carolina | Luke Porter | | Columbia | |
| South Dakota | Alex Kimn | George S. Mickelson Middle School | Brookings | 6th |
| Tennessee | Joseph Peterson | | Memphis | |
| Texas | Eric Yang | Griffin Middle School | The Colony | | Champion |
| Utah | Kennen Sparks | | Kaysville | | Top 10 |
| Vermont | Roger Danilek | | Norwich | |
| Virginia | Sidharth Verma | | Herndon | |
| Washington | Benjamin Salman | | Seattle | |
| West Virginia | Jacob Ramthun | Athens Elementary | Athens | |
| Wisconsin | Vansh Jain | Minocqua-Hazelhurst-Lake Tomahawk Elementary | Minocqua | 5th | Top 10 |
| Wyoming | Kirsi Anselmi-Stith | | Rock Springs | |