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Thomas Payne, an eighth grade student at the C. J. Hooker Middle School in Goshen, placed first in the school-wide competition of the National Geography Bee Competition on Jan. 16 and a chance at a $25,000 scholarship. The school-level Bee, where students answered oral questions on geography, was the first round in the 20th annual National Geographic Bee, sponsored by the National Geographic Society.

Payne will be administered a qualifying test to determine whether he will compete at the state-level competition. All school winners are eligible to win the national championship and its first prize, a $25,000 college scholarship, at the national competition on May 20-21 in Washington, D. C.

The National Geographic Bee, an educational program of the National Geographic Society, is a nationwide geography competition for students in grades 4-8, designed to encourage the teaching and study of geography.

The top scorers in the Geography Bee are Thomas Payne, first place; Sam DenDento, second place; and Maaz Ahsan, third place. Rounding out the top eight are Joan Climes, Nicole Glade, Zach Hayden, Elizabeth Iozzino and Courtney Murphy.