ASHLAND — Hillsdale middle schooler Isabella Dalton pronounced the letters with confidence: C-A-C-A- O.
Cacao: the five-letter word made Dalton the 6th grade champion for the 2018 Ashland County Spelling Bee. After hearing the words “that is correct,” Dalton’s face lit up with a grin. Her hands flew to her mouth in astonishment as she walked back to her seat and struggled to hold back tears.
Moments later, another Hillsdale sixth grader (and Dalton’s best friend) broke the tie for second place by successfully spelling ‘Mahatma.’ After clinching the second-place honor, Mollie Goon immediately turned to hug Dalton. All their hard work had paid off.
“The first few days we studied four or five hours,” Dalton said.
After receiving a list of 1,150 practice words, the pair studied incessantly. They quizzed each other every day at recess, and used FaceTime to practice together after school.
“I’m not surprised (they won),” said Sondra Hays, the 6th grade English teacher at Hillsdale Middle School. “They have probably worked the hardest that I’ve ever seen.”
“As soon as I got knocked out, I said (to Isabella) ‘you’ve got to win this for me,’” Goon said. “I’m very proud of us.”
Dalton and Goon were among the 22 middle schoolers to compete Tuesday night at the 43rd annual Ashland County Spelling Bee. The competition was divided into two bees: one for sixth graders and one for seventh and eighth graders.
The sixth grade bee lasted nearly an hour with a total of 13 rounds. All 15 students made it through the first three, but by the end of the fourth round only Katrina Keating of Mapleton Middle School remained. After Keating misspelled ‘cypress’ in the fifth round, the entire group was re-instated.
The 7th and 8th grade bee had only five rounds. Eighth grader Jacob Stump of St. Edward School won his third Ashland County Spelling Bee by correctly spelling ‘variegated.’
“I just try to take my time, concentrate, analyze every option,” said Stump when describing his strategy. “I try to ask a lot of questions.”
Stump credited his mother and math teacher, Janet Hootman, for helping him study. Hootman, who is a first-year sponsor for the spelling bee, met with Stump every day after school for a few weeks. Champions can’t just wing it — the week before the bee, Stump estimates he spent between 10 to 15 hours studying.
“(The bee) is good for students because it helps them focus on a goal; it tests their ability to be disciplined,” Hootman said.
Seventh grader Reagan Machin won the second place award.
“I was more confident than nervous,” said the Mapleton middle schooler.
Although thrilled with the win, Machin’s parents Jim and Renee say they are most proud of their daughter’s courage and hard work.
“For her to be able to get up in public, to educate herself and to strive, that’s the most important part,” Jim Machin said.
The sixth grade bee included students Ashland Middle School, Ashland Christian School, CE Budd School, Hillsdale Middle School, Mapleton Middle School and St. Ed School. The seventh and eighth grade bee included students from Ashland Middle, Ashland Christian, Hillsdale Middle, Mapleton Middle, St. Ed School and Loudonville Junior High School. In order to participate in the county bee, students had to be top spellers in their school bee.
Christopher Meister, a former English teacher and the service and support administrator for the Richland County Board of Developmental Disabilities, returned for his fifth year as pronouncer. The judges were Geneva Johnson, an English teacher with Mansfield City Schools; Andrew Johnson, the gifted coordinator at the Tri-County Educational Service Center; and Bonnie Graces, the Latin instructor for Ashland City Schools.
