Westlake Student Kyle Yu Excels at National Geographic Bee

Kyle Yu, a seventh-grader at Westlake's Lee Burneson Middle School, placed in the top 15 at Monday's National Geographic Bee semifinals, the Sun News reports.

Yu beat out about 100 kids at the state level to represent Ohio in the national competition.

The top ten students will compete Wednesday, May 22 for the crown. 

This is the 25th anniversary of the Bee. Geographic Bees were held in schools throughout the country. School-level winners took a qualifying test and the top 100 scores were named semifinalists and eligible to compete at the state Bee.

As the state winner, Kyle received $100, the “Complete National Geographic” on DVD, and a trip to Washington, D.C., to represent Ohio in the national finals at the National Geographic Society headquarters.

The National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo Wild will air the final round of the 2013 National Geographic Bee, moderated by Alex Trebek, on Thursday, May 23.

The top 10 national finalists for 2013, along with last year’s top 10, will be eligible for selection for the three-person team to represent the United States at the National Geographic World Championships in July in St. Petersburg, Russia.

For more information on the national Geographic Bee visit www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee.