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"Adios" summed up the end of the Butler County Spelling Bee this year.
Contestants from across the county gathered at the Butler Community College Hubbard Welcome Center Friday for the annual bee, which qualified the top three finishers for the Regional Bee March 17 in Great Bend.
"Spelling isn't about being high in IQ. It's about persistence, it's about being willing to sit down and study when you would rather be doing something else," Karla Fisher, Butler vice president of academics, said in her opening remarks.
The first two rounds of the bee each eliminated six spellers, with one more being eliminated in round three and two in rounds four and five. Another three were eliminated in round six, leaving the final four to start round seven.
Three of the contestants spelled their words correctly and moved on to the eighth round, which would begin the determination of the grand champion, first runner-up and second runner-up.
They all spelled threshold, xylophone and gorgeous correctly to move on to the ninth round, where they again spelled chutney, alcove and polymer correctly.
In round 10, Jacob Whitesell, an eighth grader at Rose Hill Middle School, misspelled morocco, earning him a second runner-up finish.
Seth Rather, a fifth grader from Cottonwood Elementary in Andover, and Peyton Vincze, a fifth grader from Sunflower Elementary in Andover, moved on to the next round.
They both spelled their words, diorama and cockatoo, correctly, moving on to the 12th round.
In this round Rather spelled seersucker incorrectly, while Vincze spelled bambino correctly. Vincze also spelled adios correctly, the championship word.
Rather finished as first runner-up.
Vincze said she did a lot of studying in preparation for the bee, studying about every day.
She enjoys spelling words and spending time with her family, who helped her study.
"I studied just a little bit," Rather said. "I like spelling bees."
He enjoys the competition they bring.
"I thought it was fun," he said.
Whitesell said he did not do anything to prepare for the bee, and he said he enjoys getting out of school for it.
"I watch a lot of media related things so it just comes to me," he said.
All three will compete in Great Bend, from which the winner will then go to the Scripps National Spelling Bee May 27 through June 1 in Washington, D.C.
Editor’s note: The Augusta Public Schools do not participate in the Spelling Bee.
"Adios" summed up the end of the Butler County Spelling Bee this year.
Contestants from across the county gathered at the Butler Community College Hubbard Welcome Center Friday for the annual bee, which qualified the top three finishers for the Regional Bee March 17 in Great Bend.
"Spelling isn't about being high in IQ. It's about persistence, it's about being willing to sit down and study when you would rather be doing something else," Karla Fisher, Butler vice president of academics, said in her opening remarks.
The first two rounds of the bee each eliminated six spellers, with one more being eliminated in round three and two in rounds four and five. Another three were eliminated in round six, leaving the final four to start round seven.
Three of the contestants spelled their words correctly and moved on to the eighth round, which would begin the determination of the grand champion, first runner-up and second runner-up.
They all spelled threshold, xylophone and gorgeous correctly to move on to the ninth round, where they again spelled chutney, alcove and polymer correctly.
In round 10, Jacob Whitesell, an eighth grader at Rose Hill Middle School, misspelled morocco, earning him a second runner-up finish.
Seth Rather, a fifth grader from Cottonwood Elementary in Andover, and Peyton Vincze, a fifth grader from Sunflower Elementary in Andover, moved on to the next round.
They both spelled their words, diorama and cockatoo, correctly, moving on to the 12th round.
In this round Rather spelled seersucker incorrectly, while Vincze spelled bambino correctly. Vincze also spelled adios correctly, the championship word.
Rather finished as first runner-up.
Vincze said she did a lot of studying in preparation for the bee, studying about every day.
She enjoys spelling words and spending time with her family, who helped her study.
"I studied just a little bit," Rather said. "I like spelling bees."
He enjoys the competition they bring.
"I thought it was fun," he said.
Whitesell said he did not do anything to prepare for the bee, and he said he enjoys getting out of school for it.
"I watch a lot of media related things so it just comes to me," he said.
All three will compete in Great Bend, from which the winner will then go to the Scripps National Spelling Bee May 27 through June 1 in Washington, D.C.
Editor’s note: The Augusta Public Schools do not participate in the Spelling Bee.
