Euless teen finishes 2nd (again) in academic contest

Euless whiz kid Benjamin Benjadol came in second in the state geography bee Friday, a place with which he has become uncomfortably familiar.

Last week, he finished second — for the fourth consecutive year — in the regional spelling bee.

Understandably, he’s ready to spend time away from the brain-busting events.

“I guess I will try to focus more on school since I have been studying for spelling bees and geography bees for the past nine years,” said Benjamin, who attends Central Junior High School in Euless. “I think it’s about time that I have a break from competition.”

Benjamin, 13, finished second in Friday’s contest to Joseph Afuso, 13, of Corpus Christi, who will represent Texas at the National Geographic Bee on May 11-13 in Washington, D.C.

Pranay Varada, a sixth-grader from DeWitt Perry Middle School in Carrollton, placed third.

The National Geographic Bee is annual competition for students in grades four through eight. Students prepare by studying land formations, countries, oceans and societies from across the globe. The state finals were held Friday in Bedford and hosted by the Hurst-Euless-Bedford school district.

The 100 students competing at the Pat May Center came from public, private and home schools across the state.

Questions in the final round included: “Which country is bordered by Ecuador and Chile?” The answer is Peru.

The question that took Benjamin out in the championship round?

“A recent fossil discovery revealed that Spinosaurus, the largest-known carnivorous dinosaur, is also the first-known swimming dinosaur. The fossil was unearthed in the Kem Kem Beds near the city of Er Rachida in which country that borders Algeria?”

Benjamin wrote “Libya,” but the correct answer is “Morocco,” which Joseph wrote.

Benjamin has his share of geography bee trophies and finished first in the state last year before tying for 11th in nationals.

Asked how she felt about Benjamin’s competitive career, his mother, Palap Benjadol, smiled and said: “I’m proud.”

Marci Deal, social studies coordinator for H-E-B schools — which had six students in Friday’s competition — said the district is also proud of Benjamin, who has competed since fourth grade. He is an academic all-star to younger students, especially those involved in spelling or geography.

“Ben has some serious followers who look up to him,” Deal said.

After taking a break from his rigorous studies, Benjamin may begin competing again once he reaches high school.

“I’ve never really planned my life beyond this,” he said.

Joseph, the winner, began showing an interest in geography at age 5, when he could draw and chart the countries of the world on a map.

“I’ve liked geography since I was little, so I think a lot of that has helped me do this,” Joseph said.

He receives $100 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for the national finals. The winner of the National Geographic Bee gets a $50,000 college scholarship.

That dangling carrot makes studying a little easier.

“I’ll just look at maps and things that interest me — things that I didn’t know as much about as I should,” Joseph said.

This was Joseph’s second time to compete at the state level. Last year, he came in third.

“I’m very excited for him,” said his father, Greg Afuso. “He’s always had an interest in traveling the world.”

This story was originally published March 27, 2015 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Euless teen finishes 2nd (again) in academic contest."