Competitors face off at the Gaston County spelling bee
Thirty-eight Gaston County students representing the district’s elementary and middle schools competed Wednesday for the opportunity to represent the county at this year’s Carolina Panthers Spelling Bee.
Every spelling bee participant had an opportunity to “walk the red carpet” and receive a plaque and certificate of recognition for making it to the county-wide competition.
Spelling bee host Bryan Denton began the event with a practice round that allowed the students to warm up before jumping into the first round.
After three rounds of eliminations, the contest came down to Cassidy Allen, a Bessemer City Middle School student, and Lawrence Martin of Cramerton Middle School.
Ultimately, Martin won first place in this year’s bee after coming in as runner-up in last year’s competition.
Both Martin and Allen received trophies, and Martin will advance in the state-wide competition which is set to take place at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium on March 17.
If he makes it through the state-level Carolina Panthers Spelling Bee, Martin will have the opportunity to advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which will take place at Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland at the end of May.
All of the students who participated in this week’s spelling bee include:
Cameron Burris - H.H. Beam Elementary School
Kynlee Lane - W.B. Beam Intermediate
Everette Pressley - Belmont Central Elementary School
Paul Sayegh - Belmont Middle School
Eli Wayne - W.A. Bess Elementary School
Gemma Partain - Bessemer City Central Elementary School
Cassidy Allen - Bessemer City Middle School
Gianna Benjamin - Brookside Elementary School
David Jacobs - Carr Elementary School
Braxton Sisk - Catawba Heights Elementary School
Azam Gasir - Chapel Grove Elementary School
Makayla Stover - Chavis Middle School
Za’Riah Sanders - Costner Elementary School
Lawrence Martin - Cramerton Middle School
Jaida Jefferies - W.C. Friday Middle School
Kylee Jean - Gardner Park Elementary School
Hudson Roberts - Gaston Virtual Academy
Nicole Cherry - Grier Middle School
Pierrine Afundoh - Hawks Nest STEAM Academy
Daniel Carpenter - Holbrook Middle School
Cooper Rash - Kiser Elementary School
Miya Degree-Stokes - Lingerfeldt Elementary School
Keira Hall - Lowell Elementary School
Madison Williams - McAdenville Elementary School
Bode Michael - Mount Holly Middle School
Corinne St. Romain - New Hope Elementary School
Hannah Zi - North Belmont Elementary School
Liliana Barba - Pinewood Elementary School
Nate Fagel - Pleasant Ridge Elementary School
Caleb McElveen - Rankin Elementary School
Khris Rivera - Robinson Elementary School
Lainey Bates - Sadler Elementary School
Logan Allen - Sherwood Elementary School
Terrence Williams - Southwest Middle School
Sarah White - Stanley Middle School
Sawyer Schronce - Tryon Elementary School
Esther Cortez Dominguez - Woodhill Elementary School
Oliver McManus - York Chester Middle School
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Gaston County Schools had a spelling bee, here is how it went
