On Thursday, Jan. 30, over 50 Pike County elementary and middle school students competed in the Pike County Scripps Spelling Bee in TROY’s Claudia Crosby Theater.
Nylah Teague, a 7th grader from Banks School, was named the winner and will represent Pike County at the Alabama State Spelling Bee. Abel Sahli, a 4th grader from Troy Elementary, was the runner-up and will also represent Pike County at the state level as an alternate.
The Troy University English Department and Troy Kiwanis Club collaborated to sponsor the event. The Kiwanis Club provided judges, free t-shirts for contestants, medallions and trophies, while the English department organized and promoted the event with help from volunteers from the department and other campus organizations.
“The Scripps National Spelling Bee’s growth proved to help students compete with rigor and sportsmanship,” said Dr. Scott Nokes, an organizer for the event and professor for the English department. “The addition of parents and faculty throughout the community also helped to add the element of spirit to the bee this year.”
The National Spelling Bee, which will be held in May, began in 1925 when nine newspapers joined together to launch the bee as a literacy effort. This year marks the 100th year of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, a century-long tradition of linguistic excellence and competition.
The Alabama State Spelling Bee will be held on March 22 in Birmingham.
