“The words were easier than I expected,” the Sussex School seventh-grader said after out-spelling 51 other elementary school students. He credited regular memorization practice with his mother during the past several weeks, along with a taste for poets like Billy Collins, as the secrets for keeping his ambulatory dictionary well-stocked.
This year's bee went fast, with 21 competitors dropping out in the first round. It took six rounds to whittle away the final six. They struggled past “obsequious” and “cummerbund” and stumbled over “colloquium” and “teriyaki.” This year's list included a number of common - but foreign - words such as “kahuna,” “sitzmark” and “adios.”
Third-place winner Anthony Harvey of Lolo Elementary's seventh grade stalled on “beleaguer.” Twenty minutes a night of word drills with family and friends was his training regimen.
The top six finishers received cash awards sponsored by the Missoulian. Frenchtown sixth-grader Mary Brooks took fourth. Lisa Petersen, a Meadow Hill eighth-grader, took fifth place. And Valley Christian eighth-grader Katherine Hawkins finished sixth.
Conyngham edged past Trunzo with a correct delivery of “howitzer” before spelling his final word. The whole competition lasted barely an hour.
Missoula County Superintendent of Schools Rachel Vielleux ran the students through the rules and advised them to carefully watch their order of appearance.
“We call the words in order, so you might get ‘rock' and the guy next to you would get ‘Australopithecus,' she warned. “Stay in order to be sure you get the easy word.”
Conyngham, Trunzo and Harvey will travel to Butte on March 31 to represent Missoula County at the state spelling bee.
Reporter Rob Chaney can be reached at 523-5382 or at rchaney@missoulian.com
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