Seventh-grade Langley Middle School student Sol Rabinovich has qualified for the Washington State Geography Bee.

Rabinovich won the school’s geography bee on Jan. 18 after competing with 11 other classroom bee winners in grades 6-8. He then took an online qualifying test and placed in the top 100 across the state. The bee is on March 31 at Pacific Lutheran College in Tacoma.

“He is really pumped up to compete in our state bee,” said middle school teacher Mary Bakeman. “He is using every free moment he has, studying. He has even made his own flashcards with country and state info on each to help him prepare.”

Rabinovich and middle school bee runner-up Josh Marks were recognized for their achievements at a South Whidbey School District meeting on Feb. 22.

State champions will receive $100, the National Geographic Concise Atlas of the World, 4th Ed., and a trip to Washington D.C. to represent their state in the National Geographic Bee Championship on May 14-17. The national champion will receive a $50,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society and an all-expenses-paid Lindblad expedition to the Galapagos Islands.