MOESC announces Richland, Crawford County spelling bee winners

MANSFIELD – The 2021 Mid-Ohio ESC County Spelling Bees took place a little differently this year, including transitioning the format to a virtual setting in order to abide by social distancing protocols.

The students and coaches from 14 districts adapted well to the virtual format making the bees a great success. The format of the virtual bees was very similar to a typical bee where each student had the opportunity to spell a word in each round until a champion and runner-up were crowned.

The Crawford/Morrow County Spelling Bee was held on Thursday, Jan. 14 at 10 a.m. Participating schools were Highland Local Schools, Cardington-Lincoln Local Schools, Northmor Local School District, Crestline Exempted Village School District, and Galion City Schools.

Galion was the big winner for the Crawford/Morrow Bee with Craig Geiger, an 8th grader, winning by spelling the word “reminiscent.” Galion 8th grader Cohen Pierce was the runner-up.

The Richland County Spelling Bee was held Thursday, Jan. 21 at 10 a.m. The districts participating were Lexington Local Schools, Mansfield City Schools, Madison Local Schools, Lucas Local School District, Crestview Local School District, Plymouth Shiloh Local School District, St. Peter’s School, and Ontario Local Schools.

The winner was Danica Staats, a sixth grader from Lexington. The runner-up was Iris Prifti, a seventh grader also from Lexington. Danica and Iris competed head-to-head for seven rounds before Danica was named the champion after correctly spelling the word “parody.”

Every speller received a certificate, and the champion received a plaque and the runner-up a medal. All certificates and awards were provided by the Mansfield News Journal, the sponsor of the bees. The top 12 qualifiers are invited to participate in the Tri-County Spelling Bee held on Thursday, Feb. 18 at 10 a.m. This will be a virtual event as well.

Leah Barger, the spelling bee coordinator for Mid-Ohio ESC, said she appreciates all of the districts’ participating in the spelling bees and for their continued support of Mid-Ohio’s student events.

“It is our hope that these spelling bee competitions are exciting for the student participants and also give students the opportunity to showcase and improve their vocabulary and spelling skills while also boosting their confidence, communication, and public-speaking skills,” Barger said. “All of the participants did a wonderful job and we are looking forward to hosting the top spellers at the Tri-County Spelling Bee in February.”

Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center provides specialized academic and support services to 10 school districts and over 17,000 students in Crawford, Morrow and Richland Counties. Client Districts receive services from curriculum, gifted and special education consultants, speech pathologists, psychologists, special education teachers, occupational therapists and physical therapists.