Washington — A Raleigh seventh-grader took third place Wednesday in the 2009 National Geographic Bee held in Washington, D.C.

Shantan Krovvidi, 13, attends Ligon Middle School. First and second place went to students from Texas and Oregon, respectively.

The Bee, sponsored by the magazine of the same name, pits students in grades four through eight from schools nationwide. Each school holds a competition to determine a winner, then the top-scoring 100 students in each state compete at the state-level.

State winners go head-to-head in the national finals for scholarships $25,000, $15,000 and $10,000.