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Middle School Claims Top Speller Title

The sweat on the foreheads told of competitive stress. Each call to the front was a chance to move ahead or take your place in the audience.

The prize, the goal of every contestant, was the honor of being the best and the opportunity to compete at the next level.

On Thursday, Jan. 25, students from West and Middle Schools, Potter-Dix and Leyton competed for the title of top speller in Cheyenne County. The winner is invited to the Midwest Spelling Bee to be held in Omaha in March. The final round of the Cheyenne County started with 26 students and 37 rounds later a winner was decided.

"We have never had two spellers stand up there and almost run out of words," said Cheyenne County spelling bee coordinator Charlotte Dorwart.

This year, the contest came down to a spell-off between 13-year-old Meghana Nakkanti of Middle School and Aadhav Krishna of West Elementary. After several rounds, the decision was made with the word "Eureka."

Each school is allowed to send six to eight of their top spellers to the county spelling bee.

Meghana has earned a place in the Omaha World-Herald's Midwest Spelling Bee in March. About 80 students representing counties and districts in Nebraska and Iowa assemble at the Omaha spelling bee after winning their respective home competitions. The winner of the Omaha World-Herald Spelling Bee receives an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May where they will compete against other champion spellers from across the country.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee was started in 1925 when nine newspapers joined together to host a spelling bee. The spelling bee has been held consistently with the exception of 1943 to 1945 during World War II.

 

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