Sean MacDonell back at Cook County Middle School after traveling to St. Cloud State to compete in the Minnesota Geography Bee. Sean was among 100 Geography Bee winners from around the state. He made it through preliminary rounds and tiebreaker questions and claimed 6th place.
From the stage of the Arrowhead Center for the Arts to the stage of Richie Auditorium at St. Cloud State, Cook County Middle School eighth-grader Sean MacDonell represented Cook County well in the National Geographic Geography Bee. At the Minnesota Geography Bee on March 30, 2012, Sean competed against the top 100 Geography Bee winners from around the state.
Back at Cook County Middle School, in Dorie Carlson’s class where he gained a lot of his geography skills, Sean talked to the Cook County News-Herald. He said the state competition started out well, with the 100 competitors at St. Cloud State being separated into five groups. Each group then had to answer eight questions to determine who moved on to the finals. Sean said the first five questions were not too difficult. “They were either/or questions, so it was pretty easy,” he said.
Questions 6 through 8 were more difficult, but Sean was able to answer correctly and he moved on to the next round, along with all the students who had 7 or 8 correct answers. He was already happy with his performance. “Going 8 for 8 was pretty cool,” he said.
There were 30 competitors—and only 10 spots for finalists, so those with 7 correct answers were thanked and dismissed. That left 18 competitors, so Sean had to battle through some tiebreaker questions to advance, which he did.
That led him to the stage of Richie Auditorium, on a dais with microphones, facing some of the top competitors in the state. The final face-off was hosted by Perry Finelli of MPR.
Sean correctly answered a few more questions, about Chicago’s Navy Pier and Macon, Georgia, before a question about a volcano in Indonesia ended his stellar Geography Bee run.
Sean was the Cook County Middle School winner in 2011 and finished in the top 25. He did even better this year, earning 6th place in the statewide competition. Congratulations, Sean!
Leave a Reply