Florida Boy Wins National Geography Bee

May 26, 2010— -- Where's Cam Ranh Bay?

That was the only question National Geographic Bee winner, Aadith Moorthy of Palm Harbor, Florida, couldn't answer in the final round of competition.

Moorthy, 13, was born in India. He attends Palm Harbor Middle School, just north of Clearwater. He told ABC News that he had a coach to help him prepare for this year's tournament.

Moorthy said that with hard work, "anything can happen."

As the winner, eighth-grader Moorthy received a $25,000 scholarship, lifelong membership to the National Geographic Society and a trip to the Galapagos Islands.

For a moment early in the competition, things got tense for Moorthy. He missed an answer in the second round. Contestants are eliminated when they answer two questions incorrectly.

Nine other boys competed with Moorthy in the finals but only two made it to the final round, Moorthy and Rhode Island's Oliver Lucier. The two boys faced off over five questions about national and political geography. Some of the questions were about Haiti, the country of origin for a special South American tea, and Botswana.

The winner was determined by who got the most correct answers.

Moorthy walked away victorious. The second-place winner, Lucier, won a $15,000 scholarship. The third-place winner, 12-year-old Karthik Mouli of Boise, Idaho, won a $10,000 scholarship.

The winner, Moorthy, is interested in astronomy. He wants to go into space one day. He also sings Carnatic music, a type of classical South Indian music. His favorite place to visit: Australia. That might change when he goes to the Galapagos Islands, where Moorthy plans to search for penguins.

The National Geography Bee, held every year at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C., saw a smaller number of participants nationwide, because of budget cuts. Nevertheless, 54 of the nation's brightest young people competed in the bee, answering a number of questions on world geography.