McShane Falls One Question Short in State Geographic Bee

The third time was not the charm for West Islip resident Sean McShane in last Friday’s New York State Geographic Bee finals.

McShane traveled to Albany for the competition among 100 of some of the brightest students in the state, with the winner advancing to the national finals next month in Washington, D.C.  However, he was eliminated in the opening round for the third consecutive time.”

“I definitely felt less nervous than previous years having been there before, but there’s still a lot of pressure involved,” McShane said.  “You don’t know what kind of questions you’ll get and that makes it more stressful.”

The first round of questioning sorted the 100 competitors into 10 groups of 10, with each student being asked eight questions. The top ten scorers then advanced to the final round.

McShane was correct on seven of eight questions, but 15 competitors received perfect scores, knocking McShane out of the event.

“The question that I got wrong was whether Guatemala or Argentina had a larger urban population,” he said. “I don’t know why I said Guatemala.”

This was McShane’s final year of eligibility for the Geographic Bee, which is restricted to students in grades four through eight. He will attend St. Anthony in the fall.

“I don’t have any major plans between now and then,” McShane said. “I just want to take it easy and enjoy my final year of junior high.”