By TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post
After a tense 22 rounds, the 68th-annual Ellis County Spelling Bee crowned its winner, who will go on to compete in the Kansas State Spelling competition.
The FHSU chapter of the National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association hosted its spelling contest on Monday night at the Beach-Schmidt Auditorium.
Forty-four students from third to eighth grade and from 12 different schools in Ellis County competed to determine who would advance to the Sunflower State Spelling Bee.
Sixth-grader Niyah Zollinger from Hays Middle School and eighth-grader Even Staab from Thomas More Prep-Marian went head-to-head for 15 rounds on Monday.
Staab was declared the winner after correctly spelling the word "sucrose," a natural sweetener found in the majority of plants.
He moves onto the State Spelling Bee in March, a stage that the Coordinator for the Ellis County Spelling Bee Tara Marshall said continues to hold greater significance.
"Making sure that we have Ellis County represented at that state level is important for a chance to go on to the national level in Washington, D.C.," Marshall said.
This was Staab's final year to compete and represent Ellis County at the state level.
Marshall also serves as the faculty adviser for the FHSU chapter of NSSLHA, an event sponsor affiliated with the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
The student-led organization's mission is to work with those with any kind of communication disorder, which includes language, literacy, reading and spelling.
Marshal said NSSLHA and the Ellis County Spelling Bee provide FHSU students with an excellent opportunity to support younger students facing communication-related challenges.
"It's a good way for our students to get involved with typical kids in this age range and see how they're doing with their language and literacy skills," she said.
Brenda Meder, pronouncer for the Ellis County Spelling Bee, said technology has negatively impacted the way people communicate. She cited the use of online abbreviations as an example.
"We've gotten very lazy about spelling because of the technological age we live in," she said. "Spelling is a skill, art, talent and educational component that is worth celebrating."
The state provides a selection of words that are used to create the county's spelling list. The words gradually increase in difficulty.
Before the start of the competition, student participants engage in a practice round. Once the spelling bee begins, students then have the opportunity to request word definitions and hear them used in sentences.
Meder said every student on stage had earned their place there and regardless of their ranking, should feel proud. She expects many of them, including the runner-up, to compete again next year.
"Fortunately for Niyah Zollinger, she has two more years to leave her mark on something. She's clearly very passionate and committed too," she said.
About four contestants from each school were present to represent their schools, including:
- St. Mary's Grade School
- O'Loughlin Elementary
- Lincoln Elementary
- Ellis Junior Senior High
- Roosevelt Elementary
- Wilson Elementary
- Washington Grade School
- Victoria Elementary
- Victoria Junior High
- St. Aloysius Academy
You can follow the FHSU National Student Speech Language Hearing Association on Facebook.