Benjamin Brady is a fourth grade student at Shadow Lake Elementary.

On Feb. 21, Brady placed first at the Washington Interscholastic Orienteering League State Championships.

He was then invited to participate in the Interscholastic Orienteering League National Championships in Pennsylvania.

The national championships were a two-day event on March 21 and 22.

Brady place second overall in the sixth grade and younger division during the competition.

Orienteering is similar to cross country but while running, racers also use a map and compass to find checkpoints in the woods as they make their way to the finish.

Brady competes locally as part of the Tahoma Orienteering Team.

The courses at the national championships were longer and more difficult than the typical courses run by sixth grade and younger teams.

Also, because of snow fall on the East Coast, following some of the routes proved to be more difficult.

“Strong navigational map reading skills combined with speed helped Benjamin place first on day one, third on day two (and) second place overall,” Sherri Brady wrote in an email to The Reporter.