In the end, the Upshur County Spelling Bee came down to the first spelling rule you ever learned — and the word that breaks it.
The annual county spelling bee brought together about 20 fourth-through-eighth graders from across Upshur County on Tuesday to compete for a spot in the regional competition.
In front of an auditorium packed with friends and family, you could hear a pin drop as the spellers stepped up, heard their word and carefully composed their response, letter-by-letter. Sometimes they would stop halfway through as the audience collectively leaned forward, silently watching from the edge of their seats.
It took just four rounds to narrow the field to two spellers — Buckhannon Academy Elementary fourth grader Jenna Nguyen and Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School sixth grader Parker Wood — as words like ‘magnanimous,’ ‘prestigious’ and ‘colossus’ claimed their victims.
In round five, the bee battle really began.
At first, Nguyen and Wood were perfect, matching each other word for word as they correctly spelled compassionate, bayonet, squalor, gyroplane and more.
Then, in round 14, Nguyen stumbled, swapping an ‘e’ for an ‘o’ in precocious.
With a chance to win it all, Wood stepped up to the microphone, listened as pronouncer Daya Wright said ‘chassis’ — and inserted an errant ‘t.’
The game would go on.
After the two spellers correctly worked through ‘auxiliary’ and ‘silhouette,’ the final round came down to a linguistic rule-breaker: concierge. Nguyen followed the rule we all learned as kids: ‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’ — but the familiar refrain led her astray.
With a second chance at victory on the line, Wood did not falter, needing just five letters to correctly spell ‘cadre’ and win the bee for his second straight year.
Washington District fifth grader Hayden Riffle finished third, with B-UMS seventh grader Anna Kubacka claiming the alternate spot. Roy Wager, Mindy Dawson, Sheila Louk and Brian Bergstrom served as judges, while Kayla Kelley coordinated the event.
“I’m excited because I’ve been practicing with the help of my dad,” Wood said after the bee, holding his first-place trophy. “We’ve been studying for a while, but I’ve been really nervous.”
Wood said that once he got a few words down, the butterflies went away.
“I can’t really describe it — being up on stage just amplified my nervousness a little bit,” he said. “But after you spell a couple of words, you get into the groove of things.”
Wood has been preparing by using the Scripps Word Club app for about 30 minutes every day.
“I did some words on my iPad today to mentally prepare myself,” he said.
Wood said he was glad to get a second crack at the regional spelling bee this March.
“When I went to regionals last time, I studied the wrong list,” he said, shaking his head.
This time, he’ll be ready.
The complete list of school qualifiers for the Upshur County Spelling Bee:
Buckhannon Academy Elementary: Fifth grader Aubree Kirkpatrick and fourth grader Jenna Nguyen, with Brandie Warner and Grace Scott as alternates.
Tennerton Elementary: Fifth grader Ari Skidmore and fourth grader Luka Afzalirad, with Christian Hayden and Adeline Shaw as alternates.
Hodgesville Elementary: Fifth grader William Cutright and fourth grader Lexi Barcus, with Max Riley and Virginia Henzler as alternates.
French Creek Elementary: Fifth grader Raicer Boatwright and fourth grader Levi Sears, with Barrett Jones and McKinley Gowers as alternates.
Washington District Elementary: Fifth grader Hayden Riffle and fourth grader Tanner Tenney, with Kanen Zickefoose and Snoanna Hamner as alternates.
Rock Cave Elementary: Fifth grader Timber Alderman and fourth grader Bryleigh McCartney, with Hunter Haymond and Liezl Wimmer as alternates.
Union Elementary: Fifth grader CJ Carroll and fourth grader Shayne McGee, with Koda Kelley and Winnie Phillips as alternates.
Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School: Sixth graders CJ Cornell, Riley Potter and Parker Wood; seventh graders Landon Hedrick and Anna Kubacka; and eighth graders Olivia Gebler and Arthur Scott, with Will Pastorius, Elijah Warner and Bee Butler as alternates.
Buckhannon Christian Academy: Fourth grader Tanner Ketterman, seventh grader Kian McCourt and eighth grader Aiden Booth, with Sawyer Schneider, Henry Malone, Kylee Eads and Adah Poddey as alternates.
