Calipers. If you’re wondering, it’s a device that measures widths and distances. And it’s the word that made Bellefontaine Middle School (BMS) student Blakely Vollrath this year’s winner of the Logan County Spelling Bee on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
Blakely out-spelled 11 other local students, finally taking the prize in the 38th round on Tuesday, Jan. 14, at the Holland Theatre.
Macie Marmon, the Benjamin Logan Middle School (BLMS) student who took second place, was a strong competitor as the two girls battled it out for more than 15 rounds before Blakely came out the winner.
The night was extra special for the county’s best speller as she also celebrated her golden birthday on Tuesday—turning 14 on Jan. 14.
“Words help you learn things,” Blakely said, then had a simple explanation for her spelling success: “I love reading, and you can’t have a book without words.”
An eighth-grader at BMS, Blakely is a daughter of Ben and Jacey Vollrath. Her brother, Kyler, a Bellefontaine Intermediate School (BIS) fifth-grader, was a fellow competitor at the county spelling bee.
Runner-up Macie, a seventh-grader at BLMS, is a daughter of Logan and Tara Marmon.
The competition was judged by Midwest Regional Education Service Center Superintendent Scott Howell, Bellefontaine Examiner reporter Mandy Loehr and Andrea Watts, Riverside Schools gifted teacher.
Erica Baer-Woods, ESC director of student achievement and gifted learning, was the pronouncer and facilitated the spelling bee.
Also competing were the top two finishers from their respective school spelling bees around Logan County, including: Jayce Clerico and Parker Evans, Riverside Elementary School; Sam Jackson and Maria Wick, Riverside Junior High School; Calin Headings, who received third place Tuesday night, and Grady Zielinski, Indian Lake Middle School; Holland Hower, BMS; Laurel Smith, BLMS; and Masyn Wilson, BIS.
