| Union City seventh-grader calmly has a winning spell |
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Posted: Friday, February 5, 2010 8:52 pm
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Matthew Edmaiston
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By CHRIS MENEES
Staff Reporter
Union City Middle School seventh-grader Matthew Edmaiston didn’t get hysterical.
He just calmly stepped to the microphone and spelled his final word, “hysterical,” to claim the championship in the annual Obion County Spelling Bee Thursday afternoon at the Union City Municipal Building.
Edmaiston — the 13-year-old son of Allen and Beth Edmaiston of Union City — bested seven other top spellers from Obion County and Union City schools to win the title in the ninth round of the competition.
This wasn’t young Edmaiston’s first time to compete in the contest, according to his mother. He also competed two years ago as a fifth-grader.
For the win Thursday, Edmaiston earned the right to represent Obion County in the annual Mid-South Spelling Bee, to be held March 6 in Memphis.
A Union City student also claimed the runner-up spot in the countywide spelling bee, with Union City Elementary School fifth-grader Lilly Burcham claiming second place after faltering on the word “quarantine” in the ninth round. Edmaiston then correctly spelled his word, “centennial,” as well as the final word, “hysterical.”
During the local competition, Edmaiston successfully spelled several challenging words as presented by pronouncer Cathie Wesner, a longtime local educator. They included “scholarship,” “pigeon,” “accomplice,” “apprentice,” “velocity,” “denominator,” “casserole” and “mildew.”
Among the many other words which Miss Burcham successfully spelled during the contest were “agricultural,” “encore,” “patience,” “subterranean,” “tutor,” “immature,” “routine” and “dynamite.”
The two Union City students had gone head to head for three rounds after two spellers — Hillcrest Elementary School eighth-grader Diana Ramos and South Fulton Middle School eighth-grader Austin Goodman — were both eliminated in the sixth round. Goodman misspelled “oblige” and Miss Ramos then misfired on “monopolize.”
As a result of both being knocked out in the same round, after the winner and runner-up positions had been decided, Miss Ramos and Goodman returned to the microphone for a run-off to determine the third-place winner.
Miss Ramos was declared the third-place winner after she and Goodman squared off for five rounds of words. Goodman had correctly spelled such challenging words as “larynx” and “rotisserie” before falling in the 14th round in his misspelling of “calisthenics.” Miss Ramos correctly spelled her final word, “photosynthesis,” after having successfully spelled such difficult words as “conundrum” and “circuitous.”
The top three finishers each received a plaque and a cash prize from the sponsoring Obion County and Union City Education associations.
Lake Road Elementary School fifth-grader Jenna Smith lasted into the fifth round of the competition, where she stumbled in her spelling of “supplement.”
The fourth round was the downfall of two spellers, with Black Oak Elementary School eighth-grader Scott Gurien misspelling “artificial” and Ridgemont Elementary School seventh-grader Dakota Smith then misfiring on “indelible.”
South Fulton Elementary School fifth-grader Tyler Ward misspelled “significant” in the first round.
Every participant — each of whom had won the spelling bee title at their own school to advance to the countywide competition — was awarded a certificate by Obion County Assistant Director of Schools James Faulkner to mark their outstanding achievement.
Staff Reporter Chris Menees may be contacted by e-mail at cmenees@ucmessenger.com.
Published in The Messenger 2.5.10
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