At Christmastime, Anthony Perry asks for maps to be under the tree. He hangs them on his bedroom wall like a kid hanging posters of his favorite NBA player.

The knowledge garnered from the maps, books and TV shows earned him a spot at the state National Geographic Bee March 31 at Shippensburg University.

Anthony, 13, of Butler is only the second Butler Junior High School student to earn a spot at the state competition, according to his geography teacher, Meredith Dodson.

Dodson said Anthony has a good chance of winning and making it to the national finals in April at National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Anthony said he has been interested in geography trivia since he was in fourth grade. His dad would quiz him with questions about country capitals and the physical features of countries.

At the school geography bee in January, he beat out other eighth grade students and a seventh grade student. More than 650 students, all eighth grade classes and any seventh grade student who wished, took the qualifying test to be in the school bee, Dodson said.

When an ice storm canceled the after-school bee, it was rescheduled during the school day and several classes came to the auditorium to watch, Dodson said.

The toughest question, he said, was about a South Korean festival. He didn't know the answer until the moderator identified the time of year it was held.

To qualify for the state competition, he took a written test. Answers didn't have to be spelled correctly, but they had to be close, he said.

Anthony said the tough questions on that test were about the currency of African countries, so in preparation for the event he is studying economical geography.

Anthony explained there are three areas of geography: historical, physical and economical. He's strongest in historical and physical — things like mountain ranges — he said.

To study, he reads books Dodson lent him and other books filled with facts.

"He knows his weakness and he is studying," Dodson said.

Dodson is just as excited as Anthony. The school granted her permission to travel to Shippensburg. She will be cheering Anthony on from the audience, along with his parents and grandparents.

"I'm really excited," Dodson said. "I've never been to anything like this." She said during the day, she will attend workshops especially for geography teachers.

Seeing Anthony's success has given her and the other geography students encouragement, she said.

Geography is "one of those subjects that you either love or hate," she said. Dodson teaches geography and honors geography and Anthony is one of the most interested students she has, she said.

"He definitely knows his geography," she said. "I think he's got a great chance. He knows obscure pieces of information."

To prove it, he will travel to Shippensburg the Thursday before the competition. To ensure he's in tip-top shape for the bee, he plans to eat a hearty breakfast of pancakes, French toast and bacon.

Should he win the $100 and trip to Washington, D.C., he will be competing for a $25,000 college scholarship.

With all his geography knowledge, Anthony hopes to go to college and study to be a television meteorologist. He said knowing about the location of mountain ranges and how that might make an area more prone to blizzards will help his career.

Then, perhaps, he would like to travel to some of the areas he studies. The farthest Anthony has gone from Butler is Orlando,Fla., but he said it would be great to travel to France and Central Europe.