Results of '08 Osage County Spelling Bee
March 15 , Regional Spelling Bee at Washburn Rural H.S.
February 15, 2008
Fifteen students represented eight schools in the Osage County Spelling Bee at Melvern on February 15. The contest began at 9 a.m. with an introduction of officials and contestants, and an explanation of rules. A warm-up round followed, with contestants one-by-one coming to the microphone and spelling practice words, such as: dingo, acre, quest, muse, bevy, feud, yeast, lyrics, myth, lynx, shrew, and dismal. Then came the real test.
In round one, the incorrect spelling of the words bantam, hearsay, amendment, knapsack, peerless, and despair eliminated six students. In round two, the words fiend, assess, porcupine, sediment, and dimension proved too difficult for five more contestants. In round three, four of the original 15 were left standing, but one misspelled the word heifer, which left three. In round 4, another misspelled the word thermometer, and now two were left: Daniel Jensen and Samantha Volkman. Daniel correctly spelled magnitude and Samantha correctly spelled mammoth, before each misspelled galloping and repetition, respectively. Daniel correctly spelled the next word, analogy, and Samantha misspelled recommend, which left Daniel with the potential championship word mischief. He did spell this correctly, and was declared the champion. Samantha is the runner up, and both will compete at the Topeka Capital-Journal Regional Spelling Bee on March 15 at Washburn Rural High School.
Contestants in the Osage County Bee included: Samantha Volkman and Mary Warner, MdCV; Skylar Farwell and Dominic Crook, Lyndon; Nathan Forbes and Kelsey Watts, Carbondale; Lakin Thompson and Boone Dodson, Burlingame; Kayli Tucker and Chase Wechsler, Overbrook; Brian Hawkins and Tambour Jamison, Scranton; Kanna Watchman and Danielle Davenport, Osage City; and Daniel Jensen, home school.
Approximately 50 family members and spectators were in the audience, including eleven members of the MdCV fifth grade class in their yellow tie-dyed t-shirts to show support for their fellow classmate Samantha Volkman. The top two finalists received plaques and all other participants received a medal, provided by sponsor Catherine Faimon, publisher of the Osage County Herald-Chronicle
The 2009 Osage County Spelling Bee will be hosted by Osage City.
