
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, May 25, 1990                   TAG: 9005250004
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

GIRL, 11, KNOWS HER PLACES, BEATS BOYS IN GEOGRAPHY BEE

The only girl among 10 finalists became the second National Geography Bee champion Thursday when she correctly named Antarctica as the continent where the Mount Erebus volcano is located.

Susannah Batko-Yovino, 11, a sixth-grader from the Washington-Jefferson School in Altoona, Pa., won a $25,000 college scholarship.

Susannah defeated Tim Forest, 13, an eighth-grader at C.J. Hooker Middle School in Goshen, N.Y. He received a $15,000 scholarship for his second-place finish.

Martin Hohner, 14, an eighth-grader at Luther Burbank School in Chicago, placed third, winning a $10,000 scholarship. Each of the other finalists received $500.

More than 3 million students nationwide have taken part in the various levels of competition. Fifty-seven contestants, age 11 to 14, represented all 50 states, the District of Columbia, five territories and the Department of Defense schools in the semifinals here Wednesday.

The contest was developed to stimulate children's interest in geography, said Gilbert Grosvenor, president and chairman of the National Geographic Society, which organized the event.

The initiative was launched after an international Gallup Poll commissioned by the society in 1988 showed American adults and students seriously lacking in their knowledge of geography. In the 10-country survey, Americans ranked among the bottom third and those age 18 to 24 came in last.

Alex Trebek, host of the television quiz show "Jeopardy," moderated the finals, using maps and slides to question the students on a wide range of subjects.

The subjects included the ceremonial event celebrated by Indians in the Pacific Northwest characterized by a feast and lavish gift-giving (potlatch) to the identity of individual republics in the Soviet Union from a numbered political map.

by CNB