BEST OF THE BEST SPELLERS SHINE

DURING THE 86^TH ANNUAL SPELLING BEE

More than fifty students from Mobile County Public, private, and parochial schools in Mobile County gathered on the stage at Baker- Gaines Auditorium on the Bishop State campus. They all were spelling bee winners. Each student had won his or her school spelling bee to make it to today’s event.

One by one they approached the microphone to wait for their word. Some of the students asked for the word to be used in a sentence, others the definition, others the origin of the word. Then there were a few that would hear the word, repeat it and spell it without questions or hesitations. Sometimes they were right, sometimes they were incorrect.

This was not a quick or easy spelling bee. It took 17 rounds before a winner could be announced. Almost 200 words were called. It was a battle to the finish with the following students coming in first, second and third. The three top winners received a medal and a monetary award.

1^st place:  Mariam Hashmi, Mobile Christian student – 6^th grade
2^nd place: Sathra Lim, Grand Bay Middle student – 8^th grade
3^rd place:  Peyton Hayes, Clark-Shaw Magnet student – 8^th grade

Mariam’s last two words were Echt and Bolshevik. She spelled the championship word without hesitation. Mariam will now prepare for the state competition and if she is the champion at that bee, she will move on to the National spelling bee.

This year's spelling bee was sponsored by New Horizons Credit Union, the GoDaddy.com Bowl and the Mobile County Public School System.