Champion spellers from all across Warren County will face off against one another Wednesday in the annual Warren County Spelling Bee.

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

The students will take turns on words of generally increasing difficulty until there is only one remaining. They don’t have to make note of capital letters or punctuation. They don’t have to go through the whole process of saying the word, spelling it, then saying it again, but some do as a way to keep focused.

The winner and runner-up from the county event will compete in the Western Pennsylvania Bee on March 10 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 with over 270 newspapers around the world.

The Times Observer and Northwest Bank sponsors the county bee. Participating Wednesday include (four from Beaty, two from YEMS, two from Sheffield, two from Eisenhower, and one each from St. Joe’s, WCCS and TCCS.):

Sheffield Middle High

7th grade

Collin Brown

Collin Brown will be representing Sheffield Area Middle High School. Collin, a 7th grader, is the son of Sabrina Anderson and John Brown Jr. His favorite subject in school is math because “it is fun,” and he is interested in becoming an accountant. Collin also enjoys wrestling, running, and playing football.

Alternate: Trenton Mead

6th grade

Wesley Elms

Sheffield Area Middle High School’s spelling bee champ is 6th grader Wesley Elms. He won after a very long battle with the word “strenuous.” Wesley is the son of James Elms and Cassi McAlee. Wesley’s favorite subject in school is ELA because he “likes to read and write”. While not at school, Wesley enjoys gaming and helping out around the house.

Alternate: Abby Brush

YEMS

7th grade

Madison Vanguilder

Madison Vanguilder is the daughter of Rachel and Brett Vanguilder. She is currently a 7th grader attending Youngsville Elementary/Middle School. Madi is active in athletics. She participated in basketball and is looking forward to volleyball this year. She is also a member of the middle level chorus. Madi loves enjoys spending time with her friends, family and pets.

Alternate: Lydia Camp

6th grade

Abigail Grunden

Abigail Grunden is a 6th grader who attends Youngsville Elementary Middle School. Born in Florida, Abi moved to Youngsville when she was two weeks old, and has lived there ever since. Some of Abi’s favorite hobbies include spending time with friends, singing, playing the violin and bowling. In the spring, Abi plays on a softball team, and she is involved in many other activities in school and in the community. One day, Abi hopes to travel outside the country, with her first stop being a trip to England.

Alternate: Kianna Stanbro (5th grade)

St. Joseph’s

5th grade

Anna Courson

Anna is the 5th grade winner from St. Joseph’s Catholic School. Anna’s parents are Steve and Katie Courson. Her favorite class in school is Science. She enjoys gymnastics, violin, piano, reading, and watching Harry Potter.

Alternate: Emily Grosch.

TCCS

8th grade

Treyah Selfridge

Treyah Selfridge is our speller and Connor Carnahan is our alternate. Treyah Selfridge, an 8th grader at T.C.C.S., is the son of Kari and Rich Selfridge. Treyah participates in soccer, JHG basketball, student council, NHS, and drama club. She can be described as creative, funny, and witty. Her future plans include having a career with animals.

Winning Word: dexterity.

Alternate: Connor Carnahan

Beaty Warren

Middle School

6th grade

Macy Winicki

Macy is the daughter of Chris and Beth Arford. Macy is a current sixth-grader at Beaty Warren Middle School. Macy enjoys drawing and writing in her free time. Macy’s favorite subject in school is Music. Macy was the winner of the Beaty 5/6 grade spelling competition and her winning word was “monomania.” Macy will be representing Beaty at the district spelling bee.

8th grade

Gabby Wilson

Gabrielle Wilson is the daughter of Wayne and Amanda Wilson. Gabby is a current 8th grader at Beaty Warren Middle School. Gabby enjoys math and language arts at school and would like to be a math teacher someday. Her favorite foods are doughnuts and she is an active member of Girl Scouts. Gabby was the winner of the Beaty 7th/8th grade spelling competition and her winning word was “supercilious.” Gabby will be representing Beaty at the district spelling bee.

6th grade

Matt Freeman

Matt is the son of Annette Freeman and Joshua Cassatt. Matt is a current sixth grader at Beaty Warren Middle School. He enjoys reading in his free time. He also enjoys hanging out with his cousins and grandma. Matt’s favorite subject in school is math. Matt was the runner-up of the 5th/6th grade competition and will also be participating in the district spelling bee.

8th grade

Sydney Govoni

Sydney is the daughter of Jennifer and Greg Govoni. She also has a sister, Savannah. Sydney is new to the school district this year. She enjoys cheering, playing drums, and guitar. She is excited for track season to start as well. Sydney was the runner-up in the 7th and 8th grade spelling competition. She will be participating in the district spelling bee as well.

Eisenhower

Elementary School

5th grade

Drew Mandeville

Drew Mandeville is the child of Tiffany Lynn Mandeville and John Rodgers Mandeville II. He is the grandson of Sandra and John Mandeville Sr. and Layton and Shirley Swanson. Drew is the older brother of Maelee Ho-jin Mandeville. He loves music and theater. His favorite subject is social studies.

Alternate: Alyssa Wismar

Eisenhower Middle High School

8th grade

Michael Jones

Mikey Jones, middle school finalist, is in 8th grade. He is the son of Becky and Jake Stewart and Bill and Jess Jones. His siblings are Nick, Emilie and Shae. He has 10 dogs and three cats and his hobbies include Boy Scouts, football and basketball. Alternate: Winnifred Wolf (6th)

WCCS

7th grade

Devon Smith

Devon Smith was the winner of the Spelling Bee at Warren County Christian School. He is in 7th grade and plays on the JV basketball team. He participates in Environthon and Geology Club. Devon lives in Warren with his parents and two younger brothers. He enjoys playing video games and basketball in his free time. Winning word: rodents.

Alternate: Elianna Beatty (8th grade).