Thurston County students qualify for National Geographic State Bee

Several Thurston County students qualified to compete in the 2016 National Geographic State Bee at Pacific Lutheran University on Friday (April 1).

The winner will receive $100, the National Geographic book “The National Parks: An Illustrated History,” a medal and a spot at the national competition May 22-25 in Washington, D.C.

Thurston County’s competitors include:

Eric Kaiser, an eighth-grader at Aspire Middle School for the Performing Arts in Lacey.

Natalie Doelman, an eighth-grader at Evergreen Christian School in Olympia.

Alea Ricklefs, a fifth-grader at Griffin School in Olympia.

Vidushi Singh, an eighth-grader at Nova Middle School in Olympia.

Rafael Gutierrez, an eighth-grader at George Washington Bush Middle School in Tumwater.

Josephine Neff, a seventh-grader at Rochester Middle School in Rochester.

This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 1:19 PM with the headline "Thurston County students qualify for National Geographic State Bee."