MINSTER — Sixth grade student Drew Belcher, son of Eric and Janet Belcher, won the Minster 2017 ‘school-level’ National Geography Bee. The school bee was held in the Elementary School large group instruction room on Jan. 26.

This year’s participants were:

5th Grade: Ryan Halpin, Ashley Meyer (Runner-up), and Macy Prenger

6th Grade: Mitchel Bornhorst, Logan Dirksen, and Drew Belcher (Champion)

7th Grade: Alex Frimel, Abby Homan, and Meghan Wiss

8th Grade: Dana Prenger, Nathan Droesch, and Mason Pohl

Championship Tie-Breaker Questions were:

• Last August, President Barack Obama announced the expansion of a marine national monument, creating the world’s largest marine protected area. The Papahanamokuakea Marine National Monument is located off the coast of which US state? Answer: Hawaii

• Archeologists have begun excavating an ancient lost city in the region called La Mosquitia in which country north of Nicaragua? Answer: Honduras

3) The Bab el Mandeb, a strait between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, connects the Gulf of Aden to which body of water? Answer: Red Sea

Belcher will now take an online geography exam to determine eligibility for state competition. They will find out if he will advance in competition in a few weeks.

The school would like to extend congratulations to all 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students for their participation, to the finalists of each class, and to Drew Belcher for a job well done.

You also can brush up on your geography skills by going online at www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee, which posts five new questions daily from past National Geographic Bees.