SUQUAMISH — Which Eastern Mediterranean county controls the Dardanelles and the Bosporus, the strategic straits that separate Europe and Asia?

If you answered “Turkey,” like sixth grader Mike Lovato did at the National Geographic geography bee at Suquamish Elementary, you’d be correct.

Lovato’s answer won him the school bee and earned him a place as a potential qualifier in the Washington State geography tournament, where he’ll compete against 100 other students from around the state.

For Lovato, the event was a long time coming.

“I can’t believe I finally won something in my last year at Suquamish!” he exclaimed.

And Lovato didn’t even think he’d be competing in the bee.

“I was second in my class,” the youngster said. “When (Mrs. Jan Kragen) told me we’d send two from our class, I started studying until I thought I was ready.”

The school event brought the 12 best scorers in individual classes together to compete Jan. 9. As their classmates watched, the group was put to the test. Each question was addressed to one student at a time, putting each participant under pressure from peers and teachers alike.

Soon the group was whittled down to its final two competitors: Lovato and Jon Colyer, both from Kragen’s fifth/sixth grade class.

The first successful airplane flight by the Wright Brothers occurred 100 years ago at Kitty Hawk in which U.S. state? The two students scribbled the correct answer — North Carolina — on their individual white boards.

Urdu is an official language of a Muslim country that was once part of British India — name this country.

Blanks on both sides — the correct answer of Pakistan was reached by neither contestant.

After one more miss by both participants, a “championship tiebreaker” was called to determine the winner of the deadlocked event. The Suquamish gym fell silent with anticipation.

The Yukon River flows across Alaska before emptying into what sea?

The Bering Sea was scribbled onto both contestant’s boards — and both were correct once more.

But then, Colyer couldn’t come up with Turkey and Lovato, using what he said was a stroke of luck, was declared the winner and consummated his win with a fist pump.

“I was really lucky to get that last one,” he added.

After a written exam, Lovato will be eligible to compete in Seattle April 2 at the state competition. It should be fierce. The State of Washington has won two out of the last three annual competitions nationwide. That winner receives a $25,000 college scholarship.