GALION, Ohio — When Galion eighth grader Caleb Strack heard the word “extrapolate” from the pronouncer Thursday night, he knew he could win the Crawford County Spelling Bee.
“I knew how to spell it right away,” he said with squinty eyes and a happy grin.
Thirty-three students from seven school districts — Buckeye Central, Bucyrus, Colonel Crawford, Crestline, Galion, St. Bernard and Wynford — competed Thursday evening in Galion Middle School’s auditorium to be Crawford County’s best speller.
“I was super nervous,” Strack said immediately following the spelling bee. “I had all emotions running at once. I’m very proud to be representing Galion and winning for them. But it really feels good for me to win, too.”
The win means the eighth grader will compete at the Tri-County Spelling Bee on Feb. 11. He’s been there before, but Thursday was the first time he had won the Crawford County Spelling Bee.
After seven rounds, Strack and Alex Wion, a seventh grader from Bucyrus, duked it out, having to spell the words “choreographer,” “laconic,” “niche,” “simulcast,” “perseverance,” “harassment,” “annotate,” “linguistically,” and finally, “extrapolate.”
The Tri-County Spelling Bee takes place on Thursday, Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center.
Each school district in the north central region qualified one student to move on to the Scripps Regional Spelling Bee, according to Spelling Bee Coordinator Leanna Giesige. Those students will take an online test starting in the next couple weeks to see if they qualify. The results come out the second week of February.
“Scripps announces the top 50 to 55 spellers in the region and they will go down to Athens, (Ohio). Last year we had several students go down to that,” Gisige said.
Also invited to the Tri-County Spelling Bee are the top 12 spellers from Crawford County, which after finding the top 11, two students battled for the twelfth spot.
Gunner Hofer, an eighth grader from Bucyrus, ultimately earned himself a spot on the top 12 list after beating Neil Groth, a sixth grader from Wynford Local Schools.
Hofer spelled “insulation” correctly for the win.
The rest of the students, from fourth to eighth grade, received certificates for their efforts.
Giesige, who works at Mid-Ohio Educational Student Center as an Education and Gifted Consultant, was excited for the students, whom she estimated practiced several hours for Thursday’s spelling bee.
“It varies by the student, obviously. But a lot of the students probably spend a couple hours a day studying. That’s how intense it is. They get the words over Christmas break so they study all through break,” Giesige said.
She said the key is being familiar with the words, in other words, by reading — a lot.
Strack said he reads an abundance of books.
“I read a lot at home. Especially at night during school,” he said. His favorite books are in the Harry Potter series.
