Lee Trawick
Reporter2@riverbendnews.org
On Friday, Jan. 20, Suwannee County's schools brought their spelling bee winners together to compete in the county-wide competition.
Leading the charge was returning champion seventh-grader Bradley Harrison. While one may assume he would be guaranteed to return, he arrived as Suwannee Middle School's (SMS) runner-up, as Lucy Kate Roberts was slated initially to appear as the school's Champion. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, Harrison stepped in as next in line to represent SMS. Also joining Harrison as school winners were Kyle Mederos Martinez from Branford Elementary School, Bella Dicks from Branford High School, Kaydon Ratliff from Suwannee Pineview Elementary School, Kayman Koon from Suwannee Riverside Elementary School, Reese Ratliff from Suwannee Springcrest Elementary School, Ashlynn Mickler from Westwood Christian School and Joe Bush Stephens from Melody Christian Academy.
As the event began, each competitor fought to maintain composure, all the while the nerves raged out of control underneath the surface. Round by round, competitors took turns dissecting the words in a way that could guide the proper spelling. Then, as many had fallen out of the competition, Harrison found himself in the 10th round with one final word to spell: "maniacal."
Following a successful recitation, Harrison earned his second straight Championship. He will now advance to the 79th First Coast Regional Championships in Jacksonville, Fla., which will be held on Friday, March 31. It will be Harrison's second appearance at the Regional Championships, however, it will be his first trip to Jacksonville to compete in person. Due to COVID protocol's last year, the Regional Championships were held virtually.