Maurissa Isaacs three-repeats as champ, Paxton Morin finishes as the runner-up
Ninety-nine total words were pronounced through 14 total rounds – from “yes” to “cinnamon” – separating the beginning field of spellers in the 2015 Mountain Lake Public School Spelling Bee to the eventual champion.
Topping the field of 15 spellers, and advancing to the South Central Service Cooperative Regional Spelling Bee, was eighth-grader Maurissa Isaacs, in her final year of eligibility. In fact, the championship was a three-peat for Isaacs, winning as a sixth-grader in 2013, in seventh grade last year and now as an eighth-grader. (In 2013, she earned a runner-up spot in the in a repeat performance. Maurissa was also first last year and earned runner-up spot in the Regional Spelling Bee, just missing a trip to the Scripps National Spelling Bee.)
Finishing as runner-up was seventh-grade student, Paxton Morin.
The top pair of spellers faced off for five of those 14 total rounds.
Maurissa correctly spelled the word “debilitate,” allowing her to move on to “cinnamon,” which she completed exactly as Webster’s Dictionary publishes it, to clinch her third consecutive title.
This year’s Bee was held Thursday afternoon, January 22, in the school’s elementary library. Pronouncer was Spelling Bee Coordinator (and elementary school library media center assistant) Pam Osland, with Elementary Principal Karl Wassman as spelling judge and Amy Hartzler, curing the round.
Throughout the Bee, the spellmasters from grades five-through-eight had to crack the spelling code for words that included kiln, mussed, parameters, emporium, jostle, ritziness, hobnob, boomerang, amulet, stalwart, full-fledged, wraith, surrogate, celestial, miniscule, dubet, gambol, edification, ispso facto, goliath, whey – and, of course, debilitate and cinnamon.
The school’s annual Spelling Bee featured four students from each of the participating four grades – two from each of the fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms, four from seventh-grade and three representing eighth-grade (eligible speller Braden Rempel was absent on Bee day).
The South Central Service Cooperative Regional Spelling Bee will be held in the Conference Center at South Central College in North Mankato on Tuesday, February 17, beginning at 5:30 p.m. The winner of the Regional Spelling Bee advances to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D. C., to be held the week of May 25-29.
South Central Service Cooperative sponsors the Spelling Bee for the South-Central Region of Minnesota. Counties covered by this event include both Cotonwood and Watonwan Counties, along with Blue Earth, Brow, Faribault, Le Sueur, Martin, Nicollet, Sibley and Waseca Counties.
For her efforts, Maurissa additionally received a medal and a Webster’s Dictionary/Thesaurus, certificate and pencil.
Runner-up Paxton also received a medal, certificate and pencil.
The remaining participants each received a certificate and a pencil.
Competing in the Spelling Bee were:
Fifth Grade – Sam Stade, Sierra Perkins, Faith Simon and Jordan Wright.
Sixth Grade – Kole Markey, Kelly Watkins, Noah Rempel and Sabrina Hanson.
Seventh Grade – Paton Buller, Emilio Garcia de la Cruz, Paxton Morin and Megan McCue.
Eighth grade – Maurissa Isaacs, Ethan Klassen and Madison Dahna.
