Two students from Santa Clarita schools were named semifinalists in the National Geographic GeoBee contest, which tests students’ geographic knowledge of the planet, officials said Monday.

Sixth-grader Preneel Samal, of Stevenson Ranch Elementary School, and seventh grader Sawyer Wiltfong, of Rancho Pico Junior High, will have the opportunity to compete in the contest, according to officials.

Schools with fourth to eighth-grade students are annually invited to register to host their own School GeoBees, which give their students the opportunity to qualify for further levels of the competition.

Samal and Wiltfong each won their schools’ respective School GeoBee, allowing them to take an online qualifying test for the State GeoBees.

Up to 100 of the top-scoring students in each of the 50 states, District of Columbia, Department of Dependents Schools and U.S. territories were invited by the National Geographic Society to compete in the State GeoBees.

Should either of Samal or Wiltfong win the state competition, they are expected to receive a medal, a $1,000 cash prize and a trip to Washington D.C. to represent California in the GeoBee National Championship at the National Geographic Society headquarters in May.

The prizes for those who take second or third place at the state competition are listed as $300 and $100, respectively.

The eventual national champion can expect to receive a $25,000 college scholarship, $1,000 in cash, a lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society and an all-expenses-paid Lindblad expedition to the Galápagos Islands aboard the National Geographic Endeavour ll.

The second place prize is a $10,000 college scholarship and $1,000 in cash. The third place prize is a $5,000 college scholarship and $1,000 in cash. Additionally, seven runner-ups are each expected to receive $1,000 in cash, according to officials.

California’s State GeoBee is scheduled to be held at Maya Cinemas in Fresno on Mar. 29.

For more information on the National Geographic GeoBee, visit the website here.

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