Eighth-grader Jayden Zheng of Bonham Middle School won the Education Credit Union Regional Spelling Bee for the second year in a row on Saturday at Tascosa High School in Amarillo.
In a battle featuring the previous two winners of the regional spelling bee, Zheng outlasted Arnie Parat of Ascension Academy by spelling the word “girder” in the 47th round of competition. After Parat misspelled the word “compulsory,” Zheng then spelled “reaping” in the 46th round.
The two competitors went head-to-head from the 17th round on when fourth-grader Raine De Guzman from Crockett Elementary in Borger missed the word “osteopath.”
Nine of the best spellers in the region were at the competition. Two students were eliminated in round two, with only five left by round five. By round 10, the spelling bee was down to its final three students. Running out of the Word of Champions Words, the pronouncer Dr. Steve Urban announced that the two staunch spellers would move onto dictionary words, which are not part of the study list.