10-year-old wins back-to-back Scripps Regional Spelling Bees

Jonathon Wheeler, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·3 min read

Mar. 9—WATERTOWN — A familiar face won this year's Scripps Regional Spelling Bee Finals at General Brown High School on Thursday night.

Last year's winner Micah R. Sterling, a fifth grader from General Brown, was the top speller for the second consecutive year.

The spelling bee went for 18 rounds, including a few rounds going back and forth with second-place winner Avery G. Ringuette from Indian River Central School District.

"I'm back," Micah, 10, said after coming in first place in back-to-back years.

There were two times in the final rounds where judges had to check the tape in order to make sure Micah spelled the word "transposable" correctly. The judges ruled he spelled it correctly.

He said he "was bored and nervous" while sitting on the stage waiting to hear if he was correct.

The winning word for Micah was "punily," which Merriam-Webster defines as being "slight or inferior in power, size, or importance; weak."

"I knew it instantly," he said.

As part of winning, Micah received a one-year subscription to Merriam-Webster Unabridged, courtesy of Merriam-Webster Inc.; The Samuel Louis Sugarman Award, 2023 U.S. Mint Proof Set, courtesy of Mr. Jay Sugarman; Britannica Online Premium one-year subscription courtesy of Encyclopedia Britannica; Watertown Daily Times newspaper digital access for the remainder of the school year; and he gets to advance to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. with travel expenses courtesy of the winning school district, the Watertown Daily Times and Jreck Subs.

The Watertown Daily Times and Jreck sponsored the event in coordination with the Jefferson-Lewis Board of Cooperative Educational Services.

Micah said he is excited to go back to D.C.

"Now I know what it's going to be like there," he said.

Second and third place winners also receive Watertown Daily Times newspaper digital access for the remainder of the school year.

Crystal L. Sterling, Micah's mom, said that he has worked extremely hard.

"He really wanted to go and compete again, so I'm just happy to see him achieve his goals and keep working," she said.

She said she is excited to go back to D.C. and they're going to make it a family trip, just like last year.

"There's a lot of different learning opportunities, things to visit and see while down there, he made a lot of friends, so hopefully we'll see a lot of returning contestants," she said.

Other students who participated Thursday night are Owen Pitrik, LaFargeville; Julia Janz, South Jefferson; Asher O'Brien, Belleville Henderson; Treya Das Banerjee, Watertown; Carter Salamacha, Alexandria; Adele Andrews, Lowville; Ayden Huff, Gouverneur; Savannah Coates, Carthage; Elek Nyitray, Augustinian Academy; McKennon Trottier, Lyme; Ryder Compo, Beaver River; Jay Reed, Clifton-Fine; Marcus Zuo, Indian River; James McDonough, Thousand Islands; Max Benjamin, Carthage; Evelyn Rarick, South Jefferson; Jack Ciscelle, Watertown; Alyssa Archuleta, General Brown; and Maddison Malone, Sackets Harbor.