Woodington student repeats as LCPS Spelling Bee champ

Wesley Vernon, center, a seventh grader at Woodington Middle School, won the annual LCPS Spelling Bee for the second consecutive year Tuesday night. Katelynn Hardison, left, a sixth grader at EB Frink Middle School, was first runner-up and Banks Elementary fifth grader Emily Chavez was second runner-up..

Woodington Middle School seventh grader Wesley Vernon repeated as winner of the annual LCPS Spelling Bee winner Tuesday night, coming out on top in a contest with 13 other school spelling champs by, appropriately enough, correctly spelling the word “ouster.”

Wesley, who won last year’s virtual spelling bee and finished second in 2019 as a fifth grader at Southwood Elementary, gave Woodington its third consecutive spelling bee crown. His win in the county contest qualifies him for the North Carolina Regional Spelling Bee to be held March 13 in Charlotte.

Katelynn Hardison, a sixth grader at EB Frink Middle School, and Emily Chavez, a fifth grader at Banks Elementary, were first and second runners-up, respectively, in a contest that went seven rounds and saw spellers plow through words like “chisel,” “merchandise” and “munchkin.”

The LCPS Spelling Bee brings together school winners from the district’s elementary and middle schools and Lenoir County Learning Academy. For Katelynn and Emily, it was their first trip to the county finals; for Wesley, the county contest is nothing new – but no less exciting.

“Most people don’t realize this, but it’s competitive,” he said. “It may not be like an athletic event, but it’s very competitive and I’m very competitive.”

Like an athlete, to succeed a speller as to put in the work. This top speller’s secret: “A lot of studying and more studying. We have a list and I go over that as much as I can,” Wesley said.

“The kids were very well prepared. You can tell they worked hard, the schools worked hard and the parents worked hard,” said Stacy Cauley, LCPS’s director of elementary education and the spelling bee organizer. “I think this was a very successful event. It was exciting to see our kids face-to-face and being able to compete in a spelling bee after being virtual last year.”

The event drew a capacity crowd of family members and school supporters to the Lenoir County Agricultural Extension Service office. It was the first district-wide event involving students to be held in person in nearly two years.

In addition to the top three spellers, students representing their schools were: Alonna Suggs, Contentnea-Savannah (K-5); Jaedon Blackburn, Contentnea-Savannah (6-8); Ava Chapin, La Grange Elementary; Markyce Myers, Lenoir County Learning Academy; Jaylee Levey, Moss Hill Elementary; Khristina Oliver, Northeast Elementary; Jayvon Smith, Northwest Elementary; Ian Hardin, Pink Hill Elementary; Jariyaha Crowley, Rochelle Middle; A’Tiyah Highsmith, Southeast Elementary; and Nathan Stallings, Southwood Elementary.

Associate Superintendent Nicholas Harvey II served as caller. Judges were Frink principal Michael Moon, beginning teacher coordinator Lynn Morris and retired beginning teacher coordinator Kim Hazelgrove.