Meet Hinds County's top speller who won the spelling bee. Could you spell the winning word?

A West Jackson fifth grader was named top speller Saturday at the 2023 Hinds County Spelling Bee held at Northwest Jackson IB Middle School.

Ashlynn-Kai McClinton, who attends Raines Elementary near the Queens-Magnolia Terrace neighborhood, withstood 13 grueling rounds to be named champion against top spelling students from elementary and middle schools throughout the county.

Her championship word, which she had to spell correctly to claim the honor, was “ramifications.”

McClinton said the win required extensive preparation on her part.

“I study my words every night at home after I am finished eating,” she said.

In recent weeks she said she had learned over 50 new words.

Her grandmother, Benita Andrews, was among those on hand to offer congratulations. She said McClinton first came to Jackson from Portland, Oregon, the Pacific Northwest, in 2016 to be closer to family members.

McClinton will now advance to represent Hinds County at the Mississippi State Spelling Bee Competition March 4 at the Mississippi University for Women in Columbus. There she will compete against 44 finalists from all over the state for the chance to compete in Washington, D.C., for the national title.

Coming close behind as the Hinds County Spelling Bee’s first runner up was Arden Pierre, a fourth grader at McWillie Elementary in north Jackson.

Originally from Tupelo, Pierre said he enjoyed the competition and plans to be back again next year to compete again.

His mom, Ardarian Pierre, Ph.D., a physician at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, said competing in spelling bees is part of a family tradition.

“I was a winner in my county spelling bee as a little girl, so we have always liked them,” she said.

Jackson Public Schools Superintendent Errick Greene, Ph.D., welcomed the participants, who represented over 40 schools from JPS, the Clinton Public Schools, the Hinds County School District and St. Richards Catholic School.

“We are excited to be hosting this spelling bee. Thank you so much for joining us this morning,” he said.

Introduced as judges were Chasedy Bergold-Gifford, Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Director for the Hinds County Schools; Othor Cain, a prominent media personality and Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Community Outreach for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Mississippi; and Vicki Davidson, Ph.D., Tenured Assistant Professor and Chair of the School of Education at Tougaloo College.

Michael Cormack, Ph.D., JPS Deputy Superintendent, served as the official word pronouncer.

Following a practice round, the official competition got underway around 9:45 a.m. Saturday with more than 40 students on stage.

For the next hour or so contestants spelled (and sometimes misspelled) their way through a bevy of tricky words, including “infrared,” “Piraeus,” “headdress” and “cowlick.”

While most contestants came from grades four through seven, the youngest, Jaden White, participated as a second grader from Gary Road Elementary in Byram. Though eliminated early, his small stature, natural stage presence and witty banter with the judges made him a favorite with the audience members.

By the third round, which began at 11 a.m., the number of contestants had dwindled to 16. Another group of words including “scruple,” “angora,” “Pinkerton” and “gargantuan” cut the number in half again to eight by Round 4.

By Round 8 only McClinton and Pierre were left, with both contestants proceeding to struggle with words like “probative,” “osmosis,” “laconic,” “fluoride” and “affluent.”

The cards appeared to turn in Pierre’s favor during Round 10 when he correctly spelled “stamina” while McClinton failed to correctly spell “embezzlement.” But to win Pierre was given a final championship word, “brochure,” which he missed, resulting in Round 11.

This time fate reversed itself with McClinton correctly spelling “tubular” while Pierre missed “erstwhile.” But McClinton also lost her championship word, “fervently,” leading to Round 12.

That round was declared a tie, with Pierre and McClinton failing to spell “installation,” and “foosball,” respectively.Finally, as the competition was entering its third hour, victory came to McClinton as she spelled the words “profundity” and “ramifications” correctly, while Pierre stumbled over the word “pallor.”

As the clock ticked on and the pressure became more intense, all students showed incredible stamina and professionalism on stage as they represented their respective schools with distinction.

Official rules for the Hinds County Spelling Bee are based on recommendations from the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee and were outlined locally by JPS administrators Chuntil Johnson and Michaela Barnes.

Student participants were introduced by JPS Curriculum Lead LaTesha Roby while Dr. Kimberly Smith, Executive Director of the JPS Office of Teaching and Learning, handled the presentation of awards.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: See who won Saturday's JPS spelling bee