Derrick Miller
When it came down to the last three contestants in the regional spelling bee Thursday in Empire, it became obvious the winner was going to be from Duncan.
Rachel Starr, Duncan Middle School eighth-grader, won the spelling bee after going 24 rounds. Starr faced off against Josephine Hriscu, Horace Mann fifth-grader, for 14 rounds before the winner was determined. Prior to round 11, Starr and Hriscu also competed against Alex Bowers, another student at Duncan Middle School.
“I feel like, oh my gosh, it’s finally over,” Starr said. “I feel like I’m going to be very tired in the future.”
When the program began, there were 21 students competing and the word “conundrum.” Of those youths, eight were from Stephens County with six being from Duncan. But by round 10, it was down to the three of them; all other competitors were eliminated.
This was Starr’s third time to compete in the regional spelling bee. She said she has tried to study for the competition in the past, but chose not to do that this year.
Hriscu, on the other hand, said she went on the Webster’s Dictionary Web site to review words. She said her hard work helped her match spelling wits with students three grades above her.
“I feel really great,” Hriscu said. “I wanted to at least get runner up. I wanted to make my school proud, and my parents.”
While the spelling bee moved along without difficulty for the first 10 rounds, but when the competition went down to two players, eliminations came to a halt.
On a few occasions, one of the two students would spell a word correctly when the other didn’t, but that students was unable to spell the follow up word correctly. To finish the game, on of the competitors had to spell a word correctly when the other didn’t and then spell an additional word correctly.
When the spelling bee reached round 23, Starr spelled the word “quandary” correctly, while Hriscu misspelled “volatile.” For round 24, Starr had to spell the word “preposterous,” which she did to win the game.
“I feel good that I actually did something at regionals,” Starr said.
Starr and Hriscu said they were glad to bring the regional competition to a close, especially after the marathon of words they faced when they were the only two remaining.
They said the competition was more strenuous than people might think. But their determination helped pull them through.
“I felt like I was going to pass out,” Hriscu said.
Starr and Hriscu will go on to compete in the state spelling bee March 6 on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman.
— Derrick Miller is a reporter for The Duncan Banner. He can be reached at 580-255-5354, Ext. 160, or via e-mail at derrick.miller@duncanbanner.com.
