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Spellbound! Middle school students show off in annual bee

Published Thursday, February 02, 2012 10:00 AM

By Stefan Rogenmoser
The Gazette

Thirty-seven of Berkeley County’s best third through eighth-grade spellers took part in one of the most memorable spelling bees in recent history Thursday. The bee was tense – but far from terse.

The competition kicked off at 7 p.m. at Berkeley High School in Moncks Corner and didn’t end until about 9:30 p.m. after a long, drawn-out battle of suspense among the final contestants.

A number of spellers were knocked out during the first few rounds, but the words didn’t seem to become more difficult for the final 10 contestants, who kept spelling like they were reading from an open dictionary in the thought bubble floating above their heads.

“The skills our students use tonight will help them be successful in a highly competitive world,” School Superintendent Rodney Thompson said during his welcome.

The humbling words of Deputy Superintendent Archie Franchini must have rung true for many parents, educators and siblings in the audience: “These young spellers will be able to spell words that I can’t, and some that I don’t know what they mean.”

The first sign that it would be an interesting night came in the early rounds when Ethan Smith, of Macedonia Middle School, was asked to spell “loathe.”

Ethan said: “L-O-A-T-H.”

The judges – English teachers Keturah Gadson (Hanahan High School), Phyllis Roberts (Ret. Goose Creek High School) and Dr. Lorraine Knight (Stratford High School) – looked up, shook their heads and Ethan walked off stage to sit in the audience with the other contestants who had been eliminated.

But after a few moments of delay, Pronouncer Kathleen Bounds announced “loath” is an acceptable spelling as an adjective.

“Welcome back to the stage,” Bounds said to Ethan, who would eventually place third overall.

The nail-biting nervousness, twiddling thumbs and gently tapping feet continued among the contestants who remained on stage for several rounds until the words became noticeably more difficult and esoteric.

Words went from “cosmetic” and “jovial” to “philosophize” “jambalaya,” “cholera,” “ibex” and “ablation.”

The remaining seven contestants grinned wider as they made it through each round.

When it looked like it was down to the last two, neither correctly spelled “prescience.” Since spelling bees are played in rounds and the last two misspelled the same word, the other three contestants who started that round were reinstated.

The same thing happened in the next round, when the last two contestants misspelled “mealy-mouthed.”

This time only two contestants rejoined. Then, in an incredulous turn of events, it happened again.

The last two contestants, Avery Carhart and Haven Xu, misspelled “effete.”

Avery and Haven stayed with each other round after round. The words kept rolling off their tongues. Both spelled all the words either correctly or incorrectly. Both misspelled “sleight,” and “miasma.”

The winner must spell two words correctly in a row.

Haven then spelled “bochwurst” correctly but misspelled “L-E-M-A.”

Avery: “L-E-M-M-A”

Next word. Haven: “A-R-D-W-O-L-F.” Incorrect.

Avery: “A-A-R-D-W-O-L-F.” Correct.

Next word. Avery: “N-E-O-P-O-L-I-T-A-N.”

A winner is declared! Avery jumped for joy and then shook Haven’s hand.

“Tonight was a marathon,” Bounds said, adding that she’s run spelling bees for a long time and has never seen anything of the like. She said she was stumped by the group’s talent.

Although it came down to two final contestants several times, Avery was among them each time.

“I hardly ever get nervous,” Avery said. “I’m hardly ever on stage. I didn’t practice much. I learned to read when I was three. I read a lot.”

Her mother, Krysta Carhart, said Avery was on stage clapping for the other contestants.

The seventh grader at Daniel Island School said she was in the spelling bee in fifth-grade but placed 13th, meaning she didn’t qualify for the regional Spellbound bee.

The top 12 finishers from Berkeley County will compete at Spellbound March 22 at Charleston Southern University.

Top 12 Berkeley County Spellers

Each student is from a middle school

1.    Avery Carhart, Daniel Island

2.    Haven Xu, College Park

3.    Ethan Smith, Macedonia

4.    Hayley Durant, Westview

5.    Malik Brown, St. Stephen

6.    Nicholle Lewis, Sedgefield

7.    Charlize Melendez, Sedgefield

8.    Ian Bongalonta, Westview

9.    Charles Ritter, College Park

10.    Drew Peavy, Hanahan

11.    Breanna Lundblad, Marrington

12.    Tawandre Joseph, Berkeley

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