Last year’s Warren County Spelling Bee went a full 18 rounds.

The final three words? Vesuvian, urad and – then for the win – Sikhism.

This year’s champion and championship word will be determined at the 2024 version of the Spelling Bee set for Wednesday starting at 1 p.m. at Beaty-Warren Middle School.

Each school is represented and here’s a little about each of the spellers that will vie for the county championship and the opportunity to move on to the regional level.

Liam Ferry, Beaty-Warren Middle School

Liam, an eighth grader at Beaty Warren Middle School who finished second last year, is the son of Brian and Casey Ferry, and younger brother to Alexander Ferry and Natasha Ferry. He is involved in soccer outside of school. In school, his favorite subject is math, but he likes spelling because “it’s easy to memorize the words.”

Maddie Tidrick, Beaty-Warren Middle School

Maddie, a fifth grader, is the daughter of Travis Tidrick and Damaris Tidrick. She is participating in the Warren County Spelling Bee – along with her brother, Evan – for the first time after finishing as runner-up at the Beaty Spelling Bee. Her favorite subject is English language arts, and she “likes spelling because it’s fun.” Her hobbies are art, and playing the piano and violin.

Evan Tidrick, Beaty-Warren Middle School

Evan, an eighth grader, is the son of Travis Tidrick and Damaris Tidrick. Evan’s favorite subject is math, and he thinks “that it is extremely silly to not only say but spell long words.” His hobbies are walking in the park and playing video games. This is his first time qualifying for the county spelling bee.

Ashton Carrington, Beaty-Warren Middle School

Ashton, a sixth grader, will participate in the county bee for the first time. He likes spelling because “it’s an exciting and fun experience and I like that it challenges me to further learning.” His favorite subjects are English language arts and gym. In his spare time, he enjoys soccer, Math 24, exercising, video games, board games and hanging out with friends and family. He is the son of Michael and Kelly Carrington, and brother of older sister Aubrey Carrington.

Phoebe Lee-Wickert, Beaty-Warren Middle School

Phoebe, an eighth grader, is the daughter of Amy Massa and Steve Wickert, and younger sister to Chloe Wickert. She qualified for the Beaty Spelling Bee all four years – from fifth grade through eighth grade, but only went through with it as a fifth grader and this year. She said spelling is “a fun way to challenge myself.” Her favorite subject is math, and she likes baking and participates in cheerleading in her spare time.

Mitchell Owens, Eisenhower Elementary & Middle High School

Mitchell Owens, a seventh grader, resides with Ernest and Linda Lawson in Sugar Grove. His favorite class is math because he is good at it and it is fun. In Mitchell’s spare time he enjoys playing hockey, piano and racing. He also belongs to the Middle School Student Council and National Junior Honor Society.

Juliet Fargo, Eisenhower Elementary & Middle High School

Juliet Fargo is the daughter of Joshua and Stephanie Fargo of Bear Lake. Her favorite class doesn’t exist because she enjoys all of her classes. She really enjoys drawing – digitally and on paper. Juliet’s achievement in the spelling bee shows her that she is a better speller than she originally thought.

Parker Shae Robinson, Sheffield Area Middle High School

Parker Shae Robinson was the winner of his school’s annual spelling bee. Parker is the son of Jacklyn McMillen and Jebediah Robinson. Parker’s hobbies and interests include sea life, playing video games and reading. His favorite subject is STEM. Parker likes to think outside the box and is very polite and respectful.

Logan Devault, Sheffield Area Elementary School

A fifth grader, Logan DeVault, won the Sheffield Area Elementary School spelling bee. He is the son of Cylee DeVault and Lucas DeVault. Logan’s favorite subjects in school are English language arts and spelling. His hobbies and interests are wrestling, football, baseball, fishing, hunting and golfing.

Ian Lewis, Youngsville Elementary School

Ian Lewis is the son of Carl and Melanie Lewis. He has one brother, Wyatt, who he enjoys playing basketball with. His favorite subject is math. He also plays basketball and baseball and enjoys playing with his dog, Cocoa, video games and hanging out with his friends.

Archer Watson, Youngsville Middle High School

A sixth grader, Watson won the spelling bee at Youngsville. He is the son of Adam and Hannah Watson and also has a younger sister, Sadie. When not winning spelling bees, you can probably find Archer hunting, playing basketball or baseball. Although Archer felt both nervous and excited on stage, he calmed his fears to become champion. His advice to other students is to “listen in class and pay attention to your teachers.”

McKenzie Hodak, Youngsville Middle High School

A sixth grader, McKenzie is the daughter of Chris and Katie Hodak. She also has one older sister, Gabby. McKenzie is a standout wrestler and enjoys all things music. Although McKenzie felt the hardest part of the spelling bee was “standing in front of a big audience” she still excelled and her advice to others that want to be awesome like her is “always be kind and respect others.”

Connor Schwabenbauer, St. Joseph Catholic School

He is a sixth grader at St. Joseph and his parents are Richard and Samantha Schwabenbauer. He has a younger brother, Brice. He likes soccer, video games and reading. The word that got him first place at St. Joseph? Maggot.

Avery Galbraith, Warren County Christian School

A fifth grader from Scandia, Avery likes to play the piano, knit and crochet. Her favorite subject is history. Her family includes Nena, Debbie, and Bill Haskins and her sister, Leah. Avery’s winning word was “crookedly.”

Khloe Rulander, Tidioute Community School

A seventh grader, Khloe is the daughter of Tiffany Rulander and Rusty Hodak. Her favorite subject in school is English language arts. She participates in basketball, soccer and softball. When she grows up she’d like to pursue a career as a marine biologist.

The following students are set to be alternates for the county spelling bee: Jazmine Moline, Carter McKee, Savea Lauffenburger, Logan Anderson and Rebecca Anderson (Beaty-Warren Middle School); Kinley Curtis, Payton Elms (Eisenhower); Caden Grinnell, Tucker Johnson (Sheffield); Ella Lord, Makiah Seybert, Salix Fletcher (Youngsville); Breylan Shaffer (St. Joseph); Annika Landin (Warren County Christian School); Jackson Redfield (Tidioute Community Charter School).