St. Gregory eighth-grader Raghav Ranga finished fourth in the National Geographic Bee held in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.
The 14-year-old was one of 10 students in the nation to be quizzed by "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek.
The competition aired Thursday night on the National Geographic Channel and is scheduled to repeat on the local PBS station Sunday at noon and Wednesday at 8 p.m.
Being that Ranga was in Washington, he was not physically present for his promotion ceremony at St. Gregory College Preparatory School on Thursday, but he made an appearance via Skype.
As the fourth-place finisher, Ranga won $1,000.
The top honor went to 14-year-old Rahul Nagvekar from Texas. He took home a $25,000 college scholarship, lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society and a trip for two to the Galapagos Islands.
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The winning question was: Name the Bavarian city located on the Danube River that was a legislative seat of the Holy Roman Empire from 1663 to 1806.
The answer is Regensburg.
Fifty-four state and territory winners took part in the preliminary rounds of the 2012 National Geographic Bee on Tuesday.
The top 10 finishers, which included Ranga, advanced to the final round Thursday.
"I have always dreamed of doing this, and I did it," Raghav said of making it to the national competition.
Ranga has competed in the National Geographic Bee at the state level four times now. His fourth-place national finish has been his best showing.
Contact reporter Alexis Huicochea at ahuicochea@azstarnet.com or 573-4175.
