THE NINE FINALISTS in the Middle School Geography Bee were (from left): Zoe Stevenson, Alexis Coste, Helena Brain, Logan Soroko, Teymur Rzakhanov, Riley Maibor, Teddy Page, Matthew Lazure and Evan Araniz. (Dana Lewis Photo)
NORTH READING — Sixth-grader Evan Araniz earned a historic win in the 2022 North Reading Middle School Geography Bee.
This marked the first time in 28 years that a sixth grade student has won the coveted school title.
For 28 years, the North Reading Middle School has participated in the National Geography Bee, sponsored by the National Geographic Society. Sadly, the National Geographic Society has decided to no longer conduct this beloved program.
But that fact, and a pandemic, didn’t stop the Middle School from continuing the tradition. Using questions from previous years, all Middle School students participated in the preliminary round of the competition. The top scorers from each grade then competed in a bee for each grade level. The grade-level bees were held live in the Performing Arts Center, and the students in each grade watched their peers compete.
The 10 contestants in the sixth grade bee were: Evan Araniz, Luke Brickley, James Cheney, Wright Gong, Matthew Lazure, Shane Mackay, Drew Nichols, Teddy Page, Priya Reynolds and Mark Sorrenti.
The 10 contestants in the seventh grade bee were: Jack Collins, Norah Deninger, Charlotte Gaillard, Riley Maibor, John Pastore, Addison Patel, Teymur Rzakhanov, Arush Shangari, Logan Soroko and Simon Tisdale.
The 10 contestants in the eighth grade bee were: Rishov Alam, Helena Brain, Alexis Coste, Calvin Fisher, Devin Lavers, Aaron Ottaviano, Erica Sorrenti, Anthony Spina, Zoe Stevenson and Caden Tsay.
Following the grade-level bees, the field of competition was narrowed down to three students per grade who would compete in the school-wide finals. These nine contestants competed on the stage of the Performance Art Center and the competition was viewed virtually by all students at the school.
Representing the sixth grade were: Evan Araniz, Matthew Lazure and Teddy Page. Representing the seventh grade were: Riley Maibor, Teymur Rzakhanov and Logan Soroko. Representing the eighth grade were: Helena Brain, Alexis Coste and Zoe Stevenson.
After many rounds of difficult questions, seventh-grader Riley Maibor and sixth-grader Evan Araniz advanced to the Championship Round. Maibor ultimately was the second-place winner and Araniz became the school champion.