Fifth grader Ben Johnson wins Decorah Middle School Geography Bee

Fifth grader Ben Johnson has won the Decorah Middle School's National Geographic Bee competition.  The school-level bee, at which students answered oral questions on geography, was the first round in the 24th annual National Geographic Bee.
      
Each student at the Decorah Middle School competed in the preliminary round of competition with 35 making it to the Geography Bee finals.   The field was then narrowed down to four finalists: 8th grader Payton Stock, 7th grader Maggie Schwartz, 6th grader Anna Hanson and Johnson.   Hanson and Johnson faced off in the final round to determine the school champion.

Ben's next step is to take a qualifying test to determine if he is eligible to participate in the state Geography Bee to be held sometime in early April.

Ben is the son of Brett and Jennifer Johnson of Decorah.