Congratulations to Fort Frye eighth-grader Carter Lang, this year's champion of the Marietta Times Regional Spelling Bee.
Lang won the 32nd annual regional bee Friday night by correctly spelling "myriad."
The champion's secret to his success - keeping his cool under pressure through 20 rounds of spelling. His approach is admirable, and obviously it's working. Lang topped last year's champion - Iram Majad, a seventh-grader from Williamstown. Lang and Majad competed head-to-head for seven rounds.
Hours of hard work by students, teachers and parents go into preparation for school district and regional competitions.
In a display of sportsmanship, Lang was complementary to Majad afterward.
"She was a really good speller. ... She knew what she was doing."
It's nice to see sportsmanship alive and well in the Mid-Ohio Valley.
A total of 48 spellers competed Friday night.
Lang qualifies for the national spelling bee in Washington, D.C., May 27 to June 2.
We wish him the best of luck and applaud the hard work of all spellers who competed.
