Eighth grader Iram Kingson, 13, of Williamstown High School, had to go through 28 rounds before she was declared the winner Friday night of the 33rd annual Marietta Times Regional Spelling Bee.
She was required to spell her final two words correct in order to be declared the winner of the spelling bee.
She calmly spelled capacious before second place finisher Peyton Hall, 13, a student at Sardis Elementary, misspelled condescension and opened the door for Kingson to win.
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Spelling bee
Iram Kingson, 13, of Williamstown High School won the 33rd annual Marietta Times Regional Spelling Bee Friday night. Kingson will be representing the region at the Scripps National Spelling Bee held in Washington, D.C. from May 26 through June 1.
CHRISTIAN
HUDSPETH
The Marietta Times
Kingson's final word was imperceptible, which Merriam-Webster defines as "not perceptible by a sense or by the mind: extremely slight, gradual, or subtle."
The battle between the two was even more impressive because the last four rounds were challenge words, which none of the students had been given a study sheet for.
"After they told me that the words were on a separate list that we hadn't studied, I was very proud of myself," said Kingson. "I was very nervous at the end because I wasn't certain on any of the words we were getting."
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About the bee
A total of 49 students competed in the 33rd annual Marietta Times Regional Spelling Bee.
Students were from 24 schools located in Washington, Noble and Monroe counties in Ohio and Wood and Pleasants counties in West Virginia.
Students had to be in the fifth through eighth grade in order to have been eligible to participate.
Top five finishers
First place: Iram Kingson, eighth grade, Williamstown High school.
Second place: Peyton Hall, seventh grade Sardis Elementary.
Third place: Lindsey Colvin, eighth grade, Warren Elementary.
Fourth place: Kyler Decker, eighth grade, Warren Elementary.
Fifth place: Chloe Kern, eighth grade, St. Mary Elementary.
Hall agreed, saying there were several words that were troublesome.
"I was unsure if mozzarella had an "o" or and "a" at the beginning of it," he said. "There were some others that were iffy but most I was pretty confident."
By placing first in the event Kingson earned an all expenses paid trip to Washington D.C. to participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee held from May 26 to June 1.
This isn't her first success in the regional bee however. She was the second place winner last year and won the event two years ago.
"I really enjoyed my experience in Washington D.C. two years ago. I'm excited to go back," said Kingson. "The competition is really tough there, but I like my chances to advance this year."
Her mother, Shahnaz Kingson, said she was extremely proud of her daughter and that there is much to decide before the national competition.
"We have a lot of planning to do before the trip," she said. "We will have to see who goes with her this year."
This was the final year of eligibility for Kingson, but Hall will still be able to compete next year.
The future looks bright for Hall, who finished fifth last year and sixth two years earlier as an alternate.
"I will be coming back next year for sure," he said.
A total of 49 students from 24 different schools located in Washington, Monroe, Noble, Pleasants, Wood and counties competed in the bee.
All of the participants in this event had already competed and won on either a local or district level in order to qualify for this event.
