Out of 13 students participating, she won in the 13th round by correctly spelling “disguise” when runner-up Kenna Joing (who was number 13) missed her word “slobbery” at the end of the 12th. Since Staudt had already correctly spelled “manure” in the 12th round, she only needed to spell her next word correctly.

She said she felt pretty good about coming in first place, a position which had eluded her in previous years. Last year she came in third behind Joing and winner Sarah Bungard. The year before that she was the runner-up to Joing’s older sister, Cali.

Staudt, the daughter of Cynthia and Nate Calvin and Nate Walker, received a $30 gift card as the champion. Joing, the daughter of Sue Sowa and Matt Joing, won a $20 gift card as runner-up. She’ll also serve as the St. Paul School alternate for the Columbiana County Spelling Bee, meaning if Staudt is unable to attend the bee as the school’s champion, Joing will step in as alternate.

The county bee is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. March 7 at Lisbon David Anderson High School, co-sponsored by the Columbiana County Educational Service Center and the three newspapers in the county, the Salem News, East Liverpool Review and the Morning Journal. The newspapers cover the cost of the county champion’s trip to Washington, D.C.

BAILEY STAUDT

Staudt and Joing said they’ll study together to prepare for this year’s county contest. They both studied the book provided for the school bee.

Last year Staudt won the school science fair in a tie with Bungard, for her project exploring the physics of a catapult, testing for accuracy and distance. She went to districts and earned a scholarship for a science camp which she attended in Wooster.

The county spelling bee is for students in grades five through eight, so this was Staudt’s last opportunity since she’ll be going to high school next year. Joing is in seventh grade.

mgreier@salemnews.net

KENNA JOING