Lexington eighth grader claims Tri-County Spelling Bee
Determining a winner in Thursday's Tri-County Spelling Bee proved to be difficult.
A trio of spellers went back and forth for four rounds — 13 rounds in all — before Ethan Currier prevailed. The winning word for the eighth grader at Lexington Junior High School was "scythe."
Currier rocked back and forth slightly as he spelled the word, ending a night of drama at the Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center.
"I was very nervous," he said afterward while spellers were posing for pictures.
Odin Sombrio, a sixth grader at Eastern Elementary School at Lexington, placed second, and Gavin Camak, an eighth grader at Mansfield Middle School, finished third.
In all, 29 spellers from Richland, Crawford and Morrow counties competed after qualifying in previous bees.
Parents and loved ones waved to the spellers as they took their seats on the opposite side of the room.
The spellers knew the rules. When they weren't sure of a word, they would ask for a definition, an alternate pronunciation or to hear the word again.
Early rounds claimed many spellers
It was a night of upsets. The first- and second-place finishers at the previous Richland County and Crawford/Morrow County bees were out of the competition by the end of the third round.
The third round was brutal as nine spellers, including a stretch of six of 10, dropped out.
Currier, Sombrio and Camak squared off in the 10th round. Camak correctly spelled "gordian," while the Lexington students missed their words.
Before he could claim victory, however, Camak had to spell the championship word, "conjugate." He missed. By bee rules, that allowed Currier and Sombrio back in the competition.
In the 11th round, Currier correctly spelled "interminable," while Sombrio and Camak missed their words. Currier had to spell the championship word, "vanadium."
He missed, giving new life to his competitors.
In Round 12, all three spelled their words correctly, extending the competition one last round.
In the 13th round, Currier spelled his word, but Sombrio missed on "Machiavellian" and Camak missed "allotropic."
'Scythe' earned him the trophy
Currier then spelled "scythe" and the trophy was his. Sombrio edged Camak in a spell-off for second place.
Currier, who placed in the top 10 in the Richland County bee, said he did not expect to win Thursday. He studied with his friend, Breah Royals, another Lexington eighth grader, to get ready for the bee.
Currier is an avid reader, enjoying science fiction and fantasy.
"I like videogames, and I love animals," he said.
Sombrio, who provided encouragement to other spellers throughout the night, said he was "very proud" of his runner-up finish.
"I practiced a lot," he said, adding English and language arts are his favorite subjects.
Sombrio sported a hooded sweatshirt with the words "The Gaming Panda," in reference to his YouTube channel.
Also finishing in the top 10 were Megan Escue, a Northmor sixth grader; Amerah Hapin, a Madison seventh grader; Grace Ute, a Highland fifth grader; Titus Kelley, a Crestview seventh grader; Grayson Grove, a Colonel Crawford sixth grader; Annabelle Harris, a sixth grader at Colonel Crawford; and Landon Bayes, a Crestline seventh grader.
mcaudill@gannett.com
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Twitter: @MNJCaudill
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Spelling bee championship goes to Lexington Junior High Student
