ROCK SPRINGS — After 10 rounds of competition, there was a three-way tie for first place at the Sweetwater County Spelling Bee on Friday at Western Wyoming Community College.
The 10th round featured words such as succotash, schnauzer and salmonella.
After a final elimination round, though, Rock Springs Junior High eighth-grader Shiva Yeshlur emerged as champion speller for the third straight year.
Ashton Kelsey from Eastside Elementary School could be the next great Sweetwater County speller. He was honored as the top sixth-grade speller and finished second overall.
Kelsey Crockett took third place for the second year in a row. She is an eighth-grader at Rock Springs Junior High School and has competed each year since she was in fifth grade.
The three students will now go on to compete at the Wyoming State Spelling Bee on March 24, which will also be hosted by WWCC.
Kelsey said she is excited to compete in her second state bee and thinks she has a good chance of getting past the written rounds this time. She said the vocabulary section was very difficult last year and may have hindered her from moving on to the oral rounds.
As for Shiva, he said that he is “nervous, as always,” about state competition. He won the Wyoming State Spelling Bee in 2016 but was eliminated in 2017 after making it through many of the oral rounds.
Last year more than 84 students from across Wyoming competed in the State Bee.
The first-place winner of the 2018 Wyoming State Spelling Bee will receive a cash award of $4,000 as well the “Bee Basket” of gifts and games. This award is meant to help winners and at least one family member attend the National Bee in Washington, D.C.
The second-place winner is awarded $300 and a “Bee Basket” of gifts and games. The third-place winner gets $200 and a “Bee Basket.”
WWCC is hosting the 2018 spelling bee with the help of The Wyoming Community Foundation.
The college invites students, schools, home-schooled families or educators interested in learning more about or participating in the 2018 spelling bee to contact Maggie Bartlett via email at mbartlett@westernwyoming.edu or 307-872-1303.
Spelling Bee participants
Students competing at the 2018 Sweetwater County Bee included:
• Lincoln Middle School: Owen Adams, Korbin Arnell, Chris Boyer, Braxton Cordova, Faith Duncan, Kaelea Gibson, Trysten Halter, Sabien Maez, Hayley Martinez, Jackson Mitchell, William Robertson and Tyler Waters.
• Farson-Eden School: Sydney Jones, Matthew Smith, Hunter Riding, Brandy Thoren, Kloie Burton, Tyra Thoren, Cree Jones and Levi Johnson.
• Holy Spirit Catholic School: Luke St. Marie, Makaylie Cloyd and Katie Copsey.
• Green River Christian Academy: Laney Fundell, Tyler Yager, Karis Sprecher and Aris Calzada.
• Eastside Elementary School: Ashton Kelsey, Extefania Sanchez, Marcella Hall, Serenity Adame, Jasmine Martinez and Kylee Ainge.
• Desert School: Landon Bird
• Rock Springs Junior High School: Londyn Wagner, Awa Souare, Shiva Yeshlur, Lillie DeVree, Amelia Lindsay, Cristel Chacon, Kisa Monzon, Kelsey Crockett, Ethan Copyak, Gustavo Hernandez, Alyk Witt and Byron Simek.
• Monroe Intermediate School: Chevy Stanton, AJ Clark, Pamela Pena, William Centrell and Lilly Duncan.
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