What started out as a competition between 101 of the state's brightest young geographers came down to two Tucson teens.
Raghav Ranga and Sumhith Aradhyula were the last of the competitors standing Friday in the Arizona National Geographic Bee.
The pair of eighth-graders made their way through the preliminary round before advancing to the finals with nine of their peers at the Tucson Convention Center.
They both navigated the finals without missing a single question before Ranga took the top honor in the championship round.
Ranga, a student at St. Gregory College Preparatory School, will now advance to the national competition in Washington, D.C., in May.
"I'm kind of in a daze because I've always seen all of these people go to Washington and it was so glorious," Ranga said. "Now that I'm going, it just feels kind of weird.
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"It is kind of nice to have this whole experience culminate with a win."
In the final round, the contestants had to answer questions orally and in writing. Two incorrect answers resulted in elimination.
The championship round went to the competitor who got best out of three questions. Ranga got all three questions correct, while Aradhyula got two.
The National Geographic Bee works to foster a lifelong passion for learning about the world.
The students involved are fourth- through eighth-graders who have already participated in school geography bees. The school-level winners took a qualifying test, which was submitted to the National Geographic Society.
From there, the National Geographic Society invited the students with the top 100 scores to compete at the state level.
For Ranga, 14, the first-place win has been a long time coming - this is his fourth year participating in the state competition.
The closest he had come to winning it all at the state level was last year, when he finished second.
Ranga's love of geography goes back to kindergarten, when he first took an interest in maps. Since then, he has traveled to six continents.
One of his most recent expeditions - a Baltic cruise - helped him answer the one question that separated him from the second-place finisher Aradhyula: naming the Baltic country that replaced the kroon with the euro in 2011.
Having been in Estonia as that transition was being made gave Ranga the leg up when his competitor answered Denmark.
That was the one question that Aradhyula, a student at Esperero Canyon Middle School, was stumped on.
Still, Aradhyula, who has competed in the contest twice before, was pleased with his performance.
"It's the best I've ever done here," the 14-year-old said. "It's not first but it still feels really good. I think I did as well as I could and I think that's what matters."
WInning Question
Here's the question that won the state geography bee for Raghav Ranga:
Q: Name the Baltic country that replaced the kroon with the euro in 2011?
A: Estonia.
Did you know
The championship round of the National Geographic Bee in Washington, D.C., is moderated by "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek.
First prize is a $25,000 college scholarship and lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society. The winner will also travel with a parent or guardian to the Galapagos Islands.
Contact reporter Alexis Huicochea at ahuicochea@azstarnet.com or 573-4175.
