5th Grader From Beverly Wins MPA Geography Bee

CHICAGO - A fifth-grade student at Morgan Park Academy bested six middle schoolers in the annual Morgan Park Academy Geography Bee this year. Alexander Hendel, a Beverly neighborhood resident, won the contest that features the top two geography students in grades 4-8 at the school. Hendel edged Lauren Fifer, a sixth-grader from Beverly, in the final round after a long tie according to a news release from the school.

Hendel knowing that the Red Sea connects to the Gulf of Aden via the Bab el-Mandeb, a strait between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, gave him the victory. He will now take an online test to see if he qualifies for the state geography bee.

Finishing in third was Riya Kapoor, an eighth-grader from Frankfort.

Also participating in the school bee were fourth-graders Kye Marshall and Cece Drown, fifth-grader Ella Wallace-McFarland, sixth-grader Micaiah Crowder, seventh-graders Kelsey Frazier and Kaylie Schmidt and eighth-grader Miles Beachum.

Photo courtesy of Morgan Park Academy