WASHINGTON -- Sojas Wagle of Springdale knows that Bangor, Maine, is the largest city on the Penobscot River, and that french fries purportedly originated along the Meuse River in the Belgian city of Liege.
On Wednesday, Sojas, an eighth-grader at Southwest Junior High School in Springdale, used his encyclopedic knowledge of geography to win third place and a $10,000 college scholarship in the National Geographic Bee, hosted by the National Geographic Society.
Questions he answered in geography bee
Here are some of the questions Sojas Wagle answered in the 2015 National Geographic Bee. The 13-year-old from Springdale won third place and a $10,000 scholarship Wednesday.
Q: A 31-foot-tall statue of Paul Bunyan is located in Maine in the largest city on the Penobscot River. Can you name this city?
A: Bangor
Q: Plastic marine debris is threatening wildlife on what small group of U.S. administered islands located 60 miles southeast of Kure Atoll?
A: Midway Islands
Q: What U.S. city is located at the head of Cook Inlet?
A: Anchorage
Q: The Pecos River is a tributary of what other river?
A: Rio Grande
Q: What is the term for a narrow strip of land that connects two larger land masses?
A: Isthmus
Q: A desert which has a name meaning Black Sands covers more than 70 percent of Turkmenistan. Name this desert.
A: Karakum Desert
Q: The Grand Egyptian Museum is being built on the outskirts in what city located 3 miles southwest of Cairo?
A: Giza
Q: The painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte depicts a scene on an island located in what river?
A: Seine
Q: French fries may have originated along the Meuse River in the city of Liege in which country?
A: Belgium
Q: The Atoll of Funafuti is part of which country?
A: Tuvalu
Q: What river flows through the city of Astrakhan?
A: Volga River
Q: What is the official currency of Liechtenstein?
A: Swiss Franc
"It was really prestigious," Sojas said afterward. "I feel really proud that my knowledge brought me here, and I'll never forget this moment."
In a light-blue polo shirt, the 13-year-old Arkansan stood at a lectern in an auditorium at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington along with nine other finalists Wednesday for several rounds of questions moderated by CNN news anchor Soledad O'Brien.
Standing on what looked like the set of a game show, contestants had to answer questions correctly and quickly -- some times aloud, other times by scribbling on an electronic screen. The clock was always running; two lightning rounds gave contestants mere seconds to answer a series of questions.
The National Geographic Channel is to air the championship at 7 p.m. Friday and Wednesday at 6 p.m. on Nat Geo WILD.
National Geographic Society Chief Executive Officer Gary Knell told the contestants that they can show others what geography education could be in the United States.
"You are an example," he said. "Not only will this give you a heads-up as you graduate and move on to careers and whatever you choose to do ... hopefully this will be an inspiration to millions of kids around America."
The first-place winner, Karan Menon of New Jersey, received a $50,000 college scholarship, lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society and a trip to the Galapagos Islands, located roughly 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador. The second-place winner, Shriya Yarlagadda of Michigan, received a $25,000 scholarship.
Defeating more than 4 million students from 11,000 schools, 54 competitors traveled to Washington for the preliminary round Monday morning. Other contestants that made it to Wednesday's finals came from Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.
According to National Geographic, no Arkansan has won the bee since it began in 1989. Sojas is the fourth Arkansan to make it to the finals, joining Michael Sundell (1989), Kyle Macfarlan (2001) and Jacob Felts (2003).
Sojas was eliminated after a question in which the top three contestants had to choose whether Beijing; Sapporo, Japan; or Darjeeling, India, would be the best location for a new ski resort. Competitors were to consider the cities' climate, topography and accessibility, and then defend their decisions to the judges.
"It's not just about right or wrong," O'Brien told the audience. "It's about logic and reasoning, too."
Sojas chose Beijing, noting its climate and proximity to airports and infrastructure. The other two contestants picked Sapporo, a city that is easily accessible but closer to mountains. They received more points, and Sojas was eliminated.
In an interview, Sojas said he studied for three hours a day during the school week and up to seven hours each weekend to prepare over the past six months.
"I read a lot of atlases and looked at a lot of maps, and tried to memorize place names or rivers or any topography or urban landscape or how they all look on a map," he said. "I had to kind of just memorize it."
The first few rounds were focused on American geography, which Sojas said was the hardest part.
"They haven't been doing U.S. questions, but I guess they started this year," Sojas said. "I wasn't expecting that, but I tried to just breathe and try and answer them."
As a top-three finisher, Sojas isn't eligible to participate in the bee again. Sojas said he'd like to work at National Geographic one day, perhaps crafting questions for the bee.
After the top winners received medals, Sojas' mother, Aparna Wagle, 44, observed as her son was interviewed by CBS and the BBC.
She said he began in January studying hours every day.
"After the school bee, they get into full force studying, but he's been studying for the last two years," she said.
Wagle said Sojas didn't get his interest in geography from her or her husband. His father, Sameer Wagle, is a neonatologist.
"He just delved into it," she said.
Wagle said she was surprised by how far Sojas advanced.
"He's just passionate about anything that he does," she said. "He's so focused. I could tell that he was just aiming for that first position. We're very happy."
Wagle said Sojas was busy Monday filming promotional spots for the bee and missed out on some of that day's sightseeing. On Tuesday, he wanted to stay inside and study.
"He wanted to just review and relax because they had a hectic last couple of days," Wagle said.
With the competition over, Wagle said, she'd be taking her son shopping at the National Geographic Museum store.
"He gets to choose whatever he wants," she said.