By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
The wordsmiths were out in force Monday night for the Bucyrus City Spelling Bee but only one could rule them all.
Returning champion Emma McAdams, a sixth-grader at Bucyrus Secondary School, once again took home top prize after correcting spelling the word “hermitage” in a championship round.
Sixteen Bucyrus Secondary and Elementary School students competed in the 2014 Bucyrus City Spelling Bee Monday night. The students, ranging from fourth grade to eighth grade, sat on the stage at Bucyrus Elementary, bouncing their legs in their chairs and nervously moving their hands. Most of the competitors lasted until round eight where words like “bulwark,” “shiatsu,” “lanai,” and “stridency” saw the students morosely walking off the stage.
McAdams and fourth-grader Ashley Davis survived the upheaval of round eight to make it into the next round. McAdams correctly spelled “asylum” while Davis misspelled “vitriolic.” McAdams moved on to the championship round only to misspell “insinuate.”
It was then a battle of the words as McAdams and Davis competed against each other for first place. The girls correctly spelled “affluent,” “lambasted,” and “evince” before Davis tripped up and misspelled “bulbous.” McAdams, after correctly spelling “hermitage,” once again took home tops honors at the Bucyrus City Spelling Bee.
“It’s exciting. It’s really cool,” McAdams said about being able to win the bee for the second year in a row. “I like it.”
McAdams admitted she had studied but found it to be hard because she never knew what words she would get. She admitted that the word “freight” almost tripped her up during one of the rounds.
Despite it being her first time competing in the spelling bee, Davis was proud of her accomplishment.
“It felt really good cause I never done the spelling bee before,” Davis with a smile. She almost admitted that it was crazy to be standing on stage in front of everyone. “I felt really nervous,” she admitted.
Bryce Stewart and Randal Elchert duked it out for third and fourth place, respectively.
First Federal Community Bank donated cash prizes for first through third places. The first and second place winners also received a plaque while all of the competitors were awarded a certificate.
The top four winners will continue on to compete in the Tri-County Spelling Bee on March 18. The winner of that competition will take an online test to be one of the top 50 qualifiers for the Scripts Bee in Athens.
See photos from the 2014 Bucyrus City Spelling Bee by visiting our Photos page.