2022 runnerup is back for annual youth spelling bee Saturday

Staff report
·1 min read

The Big Country Spelling Bee will begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Paramount Theatre.

The 24th annual event again is presented for the fifth year by Kiwanis Club of Abilene.

The winner advances to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. in June.

Tessa Jones (left) holds the trophy given to her by Amanda Wiskow, the spelling bee committee chairwoman, after winning the Kiwanis Club of Abilene 23rd Annual Big Country Spelling Bee on Feb. 26. Levi Gorman (right) was named runnerup.
Tessa Jones (left) holds the trophy given to her by Amanda Wiskow, the spelling bee committee chairwoman, after winning the Kiwanis Club of Abilene 23rd Annual Big Country Spelling Bee on Feb. 26. Levi Gorman (right) was named runnerup.

The winner of the bee here will receive online subscriptions to Merriam-Webster Unabridged and Britannica Online Premium, and the Samuel Louis Sugarman Award, a 2023 U.S. Mint Proof Set of coins. The winner and a parent or guardian will receive travel and lodging for the national bee, courtesy of the Kiwanis club.

Wylie ISD eighth-grader Tessa Jones was the 2022 champ. She has aged out but runnerup Levi Gorman, a Merkel ISD student, is back.

More:Wylie student Tessa Jones makes a beeline for Scripps National Spelling Bee on Tuesday

Contestants are eligible through eighth grade nor have turned age 16.

Public, private and homeschooled students are competing. Students from Eula, Hawley and Merkel also are entered.

Here are the students who will be competing:

Abilene Christian School

Christina Udayakumar

Austin Elementary

Gaby Robledo

Bassetti Elementary

Ziyian O'Con

Big Country Home Educators

Laynie Smith

Bonham Elementary

Jayden Mora

Bowie Elementary

Kekoa Afemata

Clack Middle

Analicea Parson

Craig Middle School

Bella Barylak

Dyess Elementary

Kannon Nail

Eula Junior High

Sophie Ruscher

Hawley Elementary

Paislee Humber

Hawley Middle School

Emma Sibre

Purcell Elementary

Landon Boalts

Mann Middle Schol

Phoenix Lowe

Martinez Elementary

Aislynn Lasater

Merkel Middle School

Levi Gorman

Ortiz Elementary

Sariah Titus

St. John's Episcopal School

Paige Coffman

Stafford Elementary

Elijah Gabat

Taylor Elementary

Adalyn Tollett

Thomas Elementary

Sawyer Anglea

Ward Elementary

Eric Ivey

Wylie East Junior High

Aryan Garlapati

Wylie West Junior High

Daniel Sanchez

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: 2022 runnerup is back for annual youth spelling bee Saturday