NEW WASHINGTON — It took 12 rounds, but the after nearly two hours of competition, Crawford County knew who its top speller was after the Thursday evening event at Buckeye Central.
Rachel Teynor, a seventh-grade student at Colonel Crawford, was crowned the champion, a feat that she was determined to accomplish after not advancing to the tri-county spelling bee in her 2018 attempt.
Teynor made it through six flawless rounds leaving her in a one-on-one bout with St. Bernard Catholic School sixth-grade student Maddy Martin.
Facing words such as “Bunyanesque” and “reticence,” the two continued to reach for the victory for five additional rounds until Teynor received the winning word.
A commonly spoken word, but not without its tricks.
Pavilion.
Did it have one “L” or two?
“I was thinking about that,” Teynor said. “I was thinking that it wouldn’t make much sense for it to have two.”
When spelling bee pronouncer John Massara said “Correct,” Teynor said she was relieved.
“It was very exciting,” she said.
She admitted thinking before the competition she should have studied more, but said she came in to the competition more relaxed than the previous year.
“I read the lists from my school,” she said. “After the practice round, it was easier, and I realized I would be OK.”
Martin, the bee’s runner-up, said she did a lot of studying primarily at home.
“I went online and there are different websites with things to study on them,” Martin said.
Martin said she is excited to represent her school at the tri-county level.
After Teynor and Martin completed their rounds, 10 students participated in a spell-off round to claim the final spots qualifying for the tri-county bee.
Students from Buckeye Central, Bucyrus, Colonel Crawford, Crestline, Galion, St. Bernard and Wynford represented their schools in the competition.
The 13 students advancing to the next round are:
- Rachel Teynor – Colonel Crawford
- Maddy Martin – St. Bernard
- Jillian Capretta – Galion
- Emily Schuster – Wynford
- Madeleine Weithman – St. Bernard
- Emma Scott – Colonel Crawford
- Drew Johnson – Wynford
- Camron Johns – Bucyrus
- Cassandra Kurek – Wynford
- Zachary Flood – Buckeye Central
- Chris Palmer – Bucyrus
- Lauren Ferguson – Wynford
- Drake Moyer – Crestline
The Tri-County Spelling Bee is Thursday, Feb. 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the Mid-Ohio ESC, located at 890 W. Fourth St., Mansfield.