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Warren County Spelling Bee Thursday at Beaty

Northwest Bank

Champion spellers from across Warren County will face off Thursday in the annual Warren County Spelling Bee.

The event begins at 9 a.m. at Beaty Warren Middle School and will feature previous school champions in grades five through eight.

The students will take turns on words of generally-increasing difficulty until there is only one speller remaining — the county champion.

As is customary, they don’t have to make note of capital letters or punctuation. They don’t have to go through the process of saying the word, spelling it, then saying it again, but some do as a way to keep focused.

Sponsored in Part by The Times Observer

The winner and runner-up from the county event will compete in the Western Pennsylvania Spelling Bee in March at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh. The champions at that level will be sent to the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is an educational promotion sponsored by The E.W. Scripps Company in conjunction withover 270 newspapers around the world.

The Times Observer and Northwest Bank sponsor the county bee.

“This is a Scripps tradition, and we’re honored to be a part of it,” said Times Observer Publisher Bob Patchen. “We’re excited to have Northwest Bank as a co-sponsor, and we’re happy to work with the school district to promote our county’s students.”

Judges include Josh Cotton from the Times Observer, Youngsville Police Chief Todd Mineweaser, City of Warren Police Chief Brandon Deppen, and retired teacher Cindy Blodgett. The Times Observer’s Brian Ferry will serve as moderator.

Participating will be students from Beaty, Youngsville, Sheffield, Eisenhower, St. Joseph School, WCCS, and TCCS, including:

Eisenhower Middle High School

Michael Vanatta (grade 8)

Michael is the son of William and Barb Vanatta. He is an honor roll student and a member of the Knights Football Team, and enjoys coding, and Dungeons and Dragons. His favorite class is history but believes spelling helps people write better. This is Michael’s first time in the district spelling bee.

Rhiannon Cook (grade 6)

Rhannon is the daughter of Christopher and Valerie Cook. She is an honor roll student who believes good spelling helps her read better. Her favorite class is English Language Arts. She loves listening to music, “Horse Haven,” and art. This is her first time in the district spelling bee.

Runners Up

Nathan Hanson (6th grade)

Aiden Knowles (6th grade)

Eisenhower Elementary School

Lainey Font (grade 5)

Lainey Font is the daughter of Shay and Jody Font of Sugar Grove. She has an older brother named Logan and a stepsister, Ava. Lainey is 10 years old and is in the 5th grade at Eisenhower Elementary School. She has always enjoyed every subject, but math is her favorite. Lainey loves to play basketball and is looking forward to playing softball during the spring. On the weekends, she likes to have sleepovers with her friends. Lainey always tries to be a good friend to others, and she enjoys meeting new people.

Runner Up

Caleb Jakubczak (5th grade)

Sheffield Middle High School

Raina Pratz (grade 7)

Raina is a 7th-grade student at Sheffield Middle School. She’s the daughter of Chastity Prine and James Pratz. She likes to take walks and be outside. Raina is very surprised that she won the spelling bee, but she’s also very excited to compete against other students from around the county.

Wesley Elms (7th grade)

Wesley is a 7th-grade student at Sheffield Middle School. He’s the son of James Elms and Cassie Mcalee. Wesley likes to bowl, bicycle, and listening to music. His favorite subject in school is history. He’s looking forward to attending the district spelling bee.

Runners Up

Allison Lindemuth (5th grade/SAES)

William Zdarko (5th grade/SAES)

TCCS

Lyli Breeding (grade 8)

Lyli Breeding is the daughter of Joe and Tracy Breeding. She has two sisters, Taylor and Sadie. She is a member of the National Honor Society. In her free time, she enjoys drawing, dancing, and hunting. Three words to describe Lyli are creative, smart, and artistic.

Runner Up

Hunter Crabtree (6th grade)

Beaty Warren Middle School

Oscar Lin (grade 8)

Oscar is the son of Jessie Liang and Paul Lin and has one sister, Anne Lin. Oscar is an 8th-grade student at Beaty Warren Middle School. He is active in youth orchestra, the Adult Chamber Orchestra and Marching band. Oscar took third place in the Beaty Spelling Bee.

Dominic Loucks (grade 7)

Dominic is the son of Travis Loucks and has one sister, Kamryn Loucks, who also competed in the Beaty Spelling Bee. Dominic is is a 7th-grade student at Beaty Warren Middle School. Dominic took fourth place in the Beaty Spelling Bee.

Owen Strandburg (grade 8)

Owen is the son of David Strandburg and Arlene Molinero and has brother, Adam Strandberg. Owen is an 8th-grade student at Beaty Warren Middle School. He is active in orchestra, basketball, and academic quiz bowl. Owen took fifth place in the Beaty Spelling Bee.

Macy Winicki (grade 7)

Macy is the daughter of Beth and Chris Arford. Macy is the sister of Christopher Arford, and McKayla Arford. Macy is a 7th grade student at Beaty Warren Middle School. She is active in student council and theatre. Macy took 2nd place in the Beaty Spelling Bee.

Molly Suppa (grade 8)

Molly is the daughter of Dianna and Terry Suppa and is the sister of Francis Suppa. Molly is a 8th-grade student at Beaty Warren Middle School. She is active in student council, cheer, volleyball, winter running club, and student ambassadors. Molly took first place place in the Beaty Spelling Bee. The winning word was “corrugated.”

Beaty’s 5 alternates were:

10th place: Matt Freeman;

9th place: Connor Zaffino;

8th place: Ella Solberg;

7th place: Bobby Johnson;

6th place: Camden Drayer.

Youngsville Elementary Middle School

Cooper Tobolski (grade 6)

Cooper Tobolski took 1st place in this year’s spelling bee. He is a sixth-grade student at YEMS. Cooper resides in Youngsville, PA and is the son of Leonard and Amy Tobolski. At school, his favorite subject is science. In his spare time, he enjoys writing.

Braiden Stewart (grade 5)

Braiden Stewart took 2nd place in this year’s spelling bee at YEMS. She is a 5th-grade student at YEMS. Braiden is the daughter of Leslie and James Fleming and Stephan Stewart. Her favorite subjects in school are Math and Social Studies. In her free time, she enjoys drawing, reading, practicing softball and playing the violin. When she gets older, she’d like to be a teacher or a fashion designer.

Runners Up

Madilyn Johnson (6th grade)

Koby Hendrickson (8th grade)

WCCS

Devon Smith (grade 8)

Devon Smith is an eighth-grade student at Warren County Christian School. He is the son of Faye and Justin Smith. His hobbies are reading, music, and video games. Devon participates in Geology Club and Envirothon at school. He is a Merit Honor Roll student. He wants to be a lawyer when he grows up.

Runer Up

Olivia Sheldon (grade 5)

St. Joseph School

Rocco Siliano (grade 5)

Rocco Siliano is a fifth-grade student in Mrs. Cecco’s base class. He is the son of Tony and Lisa Siliano. Rocco has a bother, Brandon, and a sister, Brooke. His favorite subjects in school are Math and Social Studies. Rocco is an excellent dancer and is part of Dance Express. Rocco also loves to cook. His favorite book is When Santa Fell to Earth and his favorite movie is Mrs. Doubtfire.

Runner Up

Bowen Lindell (5th grade)

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