Seventeen Colorado middle schoolers sat in front of a crowd of onlookers Friday, answering a series of perplexing questions about United States civics. The winner of the competition will go on to compete in the National Civics Bee later this year. 

The Colorado Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Civic Trust of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the Daniels Fund, held the state’s leg of the National Civics Bee at the Cable Center at the University of Denver on Friday morning.

The competition — culminating the winners of other smaller competitions in the state — saw 17 6th, 7th and 8th grade students compete in a round of multiple-choice civics questions and then a round of pitching forward-thinking ideas to a panel of judges. 

Following the three-hour competition, three top winners were selected to receive cash prizes from the Colorado Chamber and sponsor Chevron Corporation. 

The top-three winners included:

• First place: Joseph Drexler, Darren Patterson Christian Academy, Buena Vista
• Second place: Anna Metzl, Kent Denver School, Englewood
• Third place: Ram Yalavarthy, Drake Middle School, Arvada

First-place winner, Joseph Drexler, will now go on to compete in the first-ever National Civics Bee in Washington, D.C. in November where middle schoolers will compete for the national title and more than $50,000 in prizes.

Hanna Skandera, the President and CEO of the Daniels Fund, helped launch the event two years ago to help students get engaged in social studies and civics.

“If you look at the data today, one in three Americans cannot pass the U.S. Citizenship test and one in five cannot name a single branch of government so we’ve got work to do,” Skandera told The Denver Gazette’s news partner, 9News. “We wanted to be part of equipping the next generation to be engaged citizens that are truly ready to make a difference and lead this country.”