OKLAHOMA CITY - Do you know your capitals? How about rivers and oceans? When was the last time you brushed up on your knowledge of the most populous cities in countries around the world.
If you can answer all those questions off the top of your head you might have just held your own in the EPIC Charter School's National Geographic GeoBee. The competition brings students from all over the state to battle for the chance to represent EPIC Charter Schools at the state GeoBee.
Eleven students competed for the 2020 title. Answering questions about world geography. The first seven rounds of the competition awarded points to each student. After the end of the competition, four students remained tied for first place.
A tie-breaker round posed the same question to each student. The students had 15 seconds to write their answer on a marker board and share it with the judges. In the end, it all came down to one question.
Trystan Weeks, the 2020 National Geographic GeoBee winner for EPIC Charter Schools.
"I feel like all bubbly and warm and at the time fireworks are going off," Trystan Weeks, an EPIC 6th Grader, said moments after he cautiously wrote his answer on a marker board.
Weeks said he was nervous about his final answer, but was proud he had at least made it to the final round.
Weeks said he had been preparing for the geography quiz competition since early December by studying every resource he could find.
"It was that simple just study over and over until you've got it in your memory."
Now that he claimed his school's title, he will continue to study for the test to determine state qualification. "There's no way I'm stopping now," Weeks said.
"It's one of my favorite things I do all year," explained Amanda Lashley, a Special Education Principal with EPIC and one of the event's organizers, said. Lashley said she loves seeing how excited the students get when they are involved in the competition.
This is EPIC's third year participating in the GeoBee. In 2018, EPIC student Dyllon Wheeler won the Oklahoma State Championship and competed in the national competition for the National Geographic GeoBee.