Waiakea students on the top of the WorldQuest

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“What countries are members of the Arctic Council?”

“What countries are members of the Arctic Council?”

“Who is Australia’s prime minister.”

A team from Waiakea High School answered these questions and more to win the Pacific and Asian Affairs Council’s Academic WorldQuest competition.

Kealakehe High School placed third in the contest. Nearly 275 high school students from throughout the state fielded rigorous questions on international issues during testing that took place at their schools Nov. 20.

The competition consisted of 60 questions in the following categories: current events, privacy in the digital age, international trade and finance, Asia matters for America, the Arctic and the organization of American states.

The championship was decided in a tiebreaker round, with Waiakea defeating Maui’s Seabury Hall by just one point.

Waiakea’s team included Ana Bitter, Ramsey Goodale, Felix Peng and Kylan Sakata. Teacher Whitney Aragaki is the team’s adviser. They will represent Hawaii in an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for the national competition April 20-25.

The Mamoru and Aiko Takitani Foundation sponsored the grand prize.