MONTVILLE -- A seventh-grader at the Lazar Middle School student took third place in the National Geographic Bee on Wednesday.

Veda Bhattaram, 13, received a $10,000 scholarship, Montville Schools Superintendent Rene Rovtar said.

The 29th annual geography bee was open to grades four through eight and was held over four days in Washington, concluding Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.

More than 2 million students entered the competition and 54 were invited to Washington for the finals, hosted by Mo Rocca, according to National Geographic.

In April, Bhattaram won the state title in New Jersey, for a second straight year, after correctly answering the following: "Altamira Cave, known for its prehistoric paintings, is found in the province of Cantabria in the northern part of which European country?" (The answer is Spain.)

Rovtar said Bhattaram was in the process of returning to Montville on Thursday with his family.

A celebration is being planned for him at the June 13th school board meeting, she said.

"Obviously, anything that causes a spotlight to be shined on on schools, or our district, we're always very thrilled," Rovtar said.

The National Geographic Bee winner -- Pranay Varada, 14, of Texas -- received a $50,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership to the National Geographic Society, and an all-expenses-paid Lindblad expedition to the Galapagos Islands aboard the new National Geographic Endeavour ll.

Thomas Wright, 14, of Milwaukee, Wis. will get a $25,000 scholarship as the runner-up.

National Geographic will air the final round of the National Geographic Bee Championship at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Friday, May 19

Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook