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2012 Spelling Bee

The annual Knights of Columbus local chapter spelling bee was held Saturday morning, February 4th at the Odd Fellow Lodge in Waterloo, IL

After an impressive demonstration of spelling skills, the winner was finally determined in the 18th round.

Sara Stehlik, a 6th grader from Columbia Middle School won the contest by correctly spelling the word "cartilage" in the 18th round.  Sara and the 2nd and 3rd place finishers will get a chance to compete at the regional meet on Saturday March 17 at the Cahokia Council #4596 Hall, at 100 East Fifth St. in Cahokia.  Registration begins at 9:00AM, with the regional competition beginning at 10:00AM  Sara also wins a $50 gift card for her spelling expertise.

2nd place finisher Lauren Schmidt, an 8th grader from Immaculate Conception School battled for 17 rounds, finally missing the word "behemoth."  3rd place finisher Shane Douglas, a 7th grader from Saints Peter & Paul Catholic School made it into the 16th round, but went out on the word "vehemence."

Seven competitors made up this year's field:
Winner Sara Stehlik, grade 6 from Columbia Middle School 2nd Place finisher Lauren Schmidt, grade 8 from Immaculate Conception School 3rd Place finisher Shane Douglas, grade 7 from Saints Peter & Paul Catholic School 4th Place finisher and alternate to the regional competition is Ben Schulte, grade 8 from Immaculate Conception School Michael Trout, grade 7 from Waterloo Junior High School Logan Butler, grade 5 from Columbia Middle School Andy Loless, grade 6 from Immaculate Conception School

I would like to thank the principals from ICS, Waterloo Junior High, Columbia Middle School and Saints Peter & Paul Catholic School for sending strong teams to our local competition, and the Waterloo Knights of Columbus Council 1334 for hosting the event.  Very special thanks go to the K of C judges, Jerry Wolkiewicz, Ron Hagenow and Waterloo Grand Knight Mike Klein for ensuring a fair and smooth-running competition.  And of course, thanks to the spellers who impressed everyone in the room.  We went through 78 words, and came within one page of running out of words before Sara was determined the winner.