On Friday, February 6, over 20 Pike County elementary and middle school students competed in the Pike County Scripps Spelling Bee in TROY’s Lamar P. Higgins Ballroom.
Nyla Teague, an 8th grader from Banks School, was named the winner for the second year in a row and will represent Pike County at the Alabama State Spelling Bee. Giovanni Lizarraga, a 6th grader from Pike County Elementary School, was the runner-up and will also represent Pike County at the state level as an alternate.
WSFA 12 News came to campus to live stream the event, which garnered 276 views.
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 Alabama State Spelling Bee will be held on March 21 in Birmingham. The National Spelling Bee began in 1925 when nine newspapers joined together to launch the bee as a literacy effort. The DAR Constitutional Hall will serve as the new venue for the National Spelling Bee in May.
