Young spellers' bee is one for the ages
Marathon event features surprise contestants, controversy en route to crowning a winner

Sunday, March 11, 2007

BY MICHAEL SMOTHERS
OF THE JOURNAL STAR

EAST PEORIA - Who says spelling bees aren't sporting events?

The Journal Star Peoria County Spelling Bee for grade schoolers Friday even featured a judges' split decision to crown the winner.

But before Kyle Mou, an 11-year-old sixth-grader at Dunlap Middle School, left WEEK-TV's studio with his trophy, he endured a marathon of a contest that featured everything but open-field tackles.

"We have to change tapes, it's going so long," said Tim Campbell, creative services manager for the station, who directed the bee's taping for its delayed airing Saturday morning.

The 27 spellers, each representing their school, battled more than two hours through 257 total words in a 28-round bout that included 10 rounds with a determined final four.

There was controversy. If the moderator stops a speller in mid-word because he misheard the word and is spelling another, should the judges give him a new one and, in effect, a second chance? Yes, the judges concluded after a five-minute debate.

There was substitution. Amanda Walker, a Richland Christian School seventh-grader, stepped in unexpectedly for the eighth-grader who had won the school's bee and acquitted herself well.

There was an innocent touch of the showoff. "That's all I need," said 10-year-old Austin Towns, out of Pleasant Valley Middle School's fifth grade, when, stuck briefly on the word "misogynist," moderator Mike Dimmick told him its origin is Greek.

The split decision that gave Kyle the right to move on in regional bee competition, however, topped an event that clearly tested and drained the last of the young contestants.

Kyle and Austin joined Clare Crandell, 13, of Brimfield Grade School's seventh grade, and Aishwarya Iyer, 9, a Ridgeview Elementary School fifth-grader, in a 10-round standoff before Austin cracked in round 23 on "maraschino." He missed the "c."

Three rounds later, Aishwarya stumbled on "commiserate." Clare then added an extra "c" to "acumen, leaving Kyle one word from victory.

It was "adumbrate," defined as "to give a sketchy representation of: outline broadly, omitting details."

When Kyle finished, the detail the three judges debated was whether he spelled it with a "t" or a second "d."

Julie O'Donnell, Journal Star human resources manager, said she and Peter Russell, WEEK's general sales manager, heard "t," outvoting Dallis Howard, senior vice president of human resources at Methodist Medical Center.

Kyle now will compete against 12 other spellers, representing 11 other area counties and the city of Peoria, in the newspaper's Central Illinois Grand Final Spelling Bee at WEEK on March 23.

That winner will earn a trip to Washington, D.C., for the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Michael Smothers can be reached at 686-3287 or msmothers@pjstar.com.

Eighth-grader wins Peoria spelling bee
Despite rocky start, St. Philomena student spells 'wasabi' for the win

Sunday, March 4, 2007

BY DAYNA R. BROWN
OF THE JOURNAL STAR

PEORIA - Libby Newlin never considered herself a great speller.

"This is the first time I made it out of my classroom bee," said Newlin, an eighth-grader at St. Philomena School.

But on Friday she was a spelling star, outlasting 18 other students to become the City of Peoria champion for the Journal Star Central Illinois Spelling Bee.

Some of the words she had to spell on her way to victory included "sayonara," "susceptible" and "virtuoso."

"I don't think it is sinking in yet," said Newlin, who admitted to practicing for "only about a week."

The event was taped at WEEK-TV's East Peoria studio Friday afternoon and aired Saturday morning.

Things didn't look good for Newlin at the beginning of the bee, when she misheard her practice word and misspelled "burrito." But she rebounded quickly, spelling her next 19 words correctly.

Newlin actually spelled an extra word, "melancholy," when judges failed to realize she had won in the previous round.

She didn't care, though, because she spelled the word correctly.

Now, it is going to be all spelling all the time for Newlin, who is headed to the Grand Final Spelling Bee that will air March 24 on WEEK-TV, Channel 25. She will be competing against students from throughout central Illinois.

The winner of the Grand Bee will advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., and compete against hundreds of students from across the country. The national bee is May 28 through June 1.

The competition on Friday included fourth- through eighth-grade students from 11 District 150 schools and eight private schools.

The bee begins with a practice round, which is good, because nine students missed their words Friday. Four students went out in the first and second rounds, and five fell in the third.

All six remaining students made it through the fourth round, two fell in the fifth, one in the sixth and one in the ninth round.

Only Eileen Prescott of Washington Gifted Middle School and Newlin remained, and the two went back and forth for eight more rounds before Prescott misspelled "autobahn."

Newlin then spelled "wasabi" to win.

Relieved the day was over, Newlin said her love of reading helped her get this far.

"If you don't see the word beforehand, you are kind of clueless how to spell it," she said.

Dayna R. Brown can be reached at 686-3255 or dbrown@pjstar.com.