Veritas student abuzz after win at spelling bee
Nathan McElroy, a fifth-grader at Veritas Classical Academy, was the grand prize winner in Friday’s Marietta Times Regional Spelling Bee. He will represent the region in the Scripps National Bee. (Photo by Christina Myer)
From left, Neela Perez, Nathan McElroy, Eli Vessels and Henry Corcoran, all of Veritas Classical Academy, were the last four participants from Group 1; and moved on to the final round of the bee, where they faced off against the last four from Group 2. (Photo by Christina Myer)
From left, Evelyn Stout of Edison Middle School, Maya Mincks of Hamilton Middle School, Kathryn Nguyen of St. Mary’s Catholic School and Olivia Eaton of Blennerhassett Middle School were the last four participants from Group 2. (Photo by Christina Myer)
From left, Nathan McElroy, first place; Olivia Eaton, second place; Eli Vessels, third place; Maya Mincks, fourth place; and Neela Perez, fifth place, return to the stage following Friday’s Marietta Times Regional Spelling Bee at the Mid-Ohio Valley Players Theater. McElroy won a $100 prize sponsored by Peoples Bank and will go on to compete in the Scripps National Bee this summer. (Photo by Christina Myer)
George Wells, bee coordinator for Switzerland of Ohio Schools, gives Group Two participants their orientation Friday during the regional spelling bee at the Mid-Ohio Valley Players Theater in Marietta. (Photo by Christina Myer)
Evelyn Stout, of Wood County Schools, steps to the mic to spell during Friday’s Marietta Times Regional Spelling Bee. (Photo by Christina Myer)
Nathan McElroy, a fifth-grader at Veritas Classical Academy, was the grand prize winner in Friday’s Marietta Times Regional Spelling Bee. He will represent the region in the Scripps National Bee. (Photo by Christina Myer)
From left, Neela Perez, Nathan McElroy, Eli Vessels and Henry Corcoran, all of Veritas Classical Academy, were the last four participants from Group 1; and moved on to the final round of the bee, where they faced off against the last four from Group 2. (Photo by Christina Myer)
From left, Evelyn Stout of Edison Middle School, Maya Mincks of Hamilton Middle School, Kathryn Nguyen of St. Mary’s Catholic School and Olivia Eaton of Blennerhassett Middle School were the last four participants from Group 2. (Photo by Christina Myer)
From left, Nathan McElroy, first place; Olivia Eaton, second place; Eli Vessels, third place; Maya Mincks, fourth place; and Neela Perez, fifth place, return to the stage following Friday’s Marietta Times Regional Spelling Bee at the Mid-Ohio Valley Players Theater. McElroy won a $100 prize sponsored by Peoples Bank and will go on to compete in the Scripps National Bee this summer. (Photo by Christina Myer)
George Wells, bee coordinator for Switzerland of Ohio Schools, gives Group Two participants their orientation Friday during the regional spelling bee at the Mid-Ohio Valley Players Theater in Marietta. (Photo by Christina Myer)
Evelyn Stout, of Wood County Schools, steps to the mic to spell during Friday’s Marietta Times Regional Spelling Bee. (Photo by Christina Myer)
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MARIETTA -- In quick succession students filed through words on a new stage Friday, vying for the regional title and bragging rights of the 2021 Marietta Times Regional Spelling Bee champion.
With coronavirus restrictions still in place, a venue change to the Mid-Ohio Valley Players' theater on Putnam Street in Marietta saw a smaller crowd gathered, in two sections, to cheer on their spellers.
Words ranged from guffaw (to laugh noisily or coarsely) to callow (marked by lack of adult sophistication, experience, perception or judgment).
The bee was also live-streamed for a third time in recent years, this time on the Mid-Ohio Valley Players' Facebook page to allow for family and friends to cheer on spellers from afar.
In the first round, four spellers from Veritas Classical Academy moved on to the top eight at the end of the night, with three of the four placing in the top five.
Those four spellers included Neela Perez, Nathan McElroy, Ethan Vessels and Henry Corcoran.
In the second round, public school students gained ground, alongside Kathryn Nguyen of St. Mary's Catholic School were Evelyn Stout of Edison Middle School, Olivia Eaton of Blennerhassett Middle School, and Maya Mincks of Hamilton Middle School.
The stage also saw multiple spell-offs as the word difficulty increased under the voice of Marietta College President Bill Ruud, who served as pronouncer on Friday.
Fifth-grade student McElroy, 11, of Whipple, took home the first-place trophy Friday, with the correct spelling of baleen, a word from a Greek-derived Latin word that became French and then English.
The word is a noun, representing a hornlike substance growing in the mouth of whales that is attached to two ranks along the upper jaw to form a fringe-like sieve to collect and retain food.
Used in a sentence, "Baleen continues to grow throughout a whale's life."
And with a round of applause from the viewers still remaining in the theater at the close of the evening, McElroy correctly spelled, "baleen, B-A-L-E-E-N, baleen."
Ding.
McElroy said though his demeanor on stage showed temperance and reserve, inside that calm was not the same.
"I was so nervous," he shared, but kept breathing with calm projection, not rushing each time he stepped up to the microphone.
McElroy not only took home a trophy, but also $100, sponsored by Peoples Bank, to spend, perhaps, on a wordy prize befitting the superb speller.
Janelle Patterson may be reached at jpatterson@mariettatimes.com.