Barrington Middle School student Eli Terrell inched a bit closer to winning the state geography bee this year.

The sixth-grader finished seventh at the state finals a year ago, and jumped to fourth at the finals this year. Students can compete in the geography bee through the eighth grade. 

Eli surprised the field of competitors and judges at last year's state geography bee. Normally, the younger students struggle to qualify for the top 10, but Eli did just that as a fifth-grader. 

"I felt a little intimidated last year," said Eli during a recent interview. "I was the only fifth-grader."

This year, Eli entered the state finals after winning the middle school bee. He said he felt much more comfortable during this year's competition, and the results showed just that. Eli performed well during the preliminary round — students were asked eight questions and Eli answered correctly on seven of them. He was one of only seven students out of the 51 competing who answered seven or more questions correctly.

He advanced to the finals and took his spot in front of the crowd. Each student sat in a chair and waited for their turn to be asked a question. Students drew numbers to see who would have to answer first.

"I got number one," he said, adding that he was not happy with his draw.

Still, the local student performed masterfully in the finals. Eli continued to answer questions with perfect answers, while other contestant were eliminated.

In the end, Eli's run was spoiled by a tricky question involving two cities in Florida.

Eli's mom, Liz Lanik, said her son seemed quite happy with his top-five finish in the geography bee. He even said he wished the geography competitions were every four months, and not once a year. 

"We are super proud of him, and we are glad that he likes this so much," Liz added.

Eli and his family celebrated with a sushi dinner following the state geography bee. Eli ordered the "sushi deluxe." 

"Next year I'm going to finish in the top three," he said.

Eli said his family — mom, Liz, dad, Gary, and sister Phoebe — helped him prepare for the geography bee. He also thanked Miss "Tags" Taglione and Mrs. Ryan — his teachers at Barrington Middle School. 

In addition to conquering geography bees, Eli also likes to play baseball, tennis and soccer, enjoys reading, and plays the trombone.