The Winner Spells 'Schottische'
Chewning student wins second Durham spelling bee at Duke
The second annual Scripps Regional Spelling Bee, sponsored by Duke's Office of Durham and Regional Affairs, opened Saturday morning with 56 champion spellers seated in rows on the stage of Page Auditorium, their families, teachers and principals beaming up from the audience below.
"Speller No. 1, from A.L. Stanback Middle, your word is ‘sultan,'" opened Judith Ruderman, Duke adjunct professor in English, retired vice provost, and for the second year in a row, official pronouncer for the regional bee.
Naomi Braswell spelled "sultan" quickly, yielding the microphone to other competitors to tackle words such as "gunnysack" and "caboose."
Twenty-five spellers were eliminated in Round One. More than 15 rounds later, two spellers remained: Jesus Ayala Lara of Chewning Middle School in Durham and Simisola Gbadegesin, of Durham School of the Arts. Over the next rounds, each facing elimination, the two correctly spelled words such as peloton, fennec, baedeker, hoomalili and insulberg,
Then Gbadegesin missed "muishond." If Ayala Lara got the next word, he would win the regional bee and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in June.
The word was "Schottishce," meaning a round dance resembling the polka. He didn't even pause. "Schottische. S-c-h-o-t-t-i-s-c-h-e. Schottische."
Ruderman confirmed the spelling and the audience erupted into applause.
Sponsored by Duke's Office of Durham and Regional Affairs, the regional spelling bee returned to Durham and Orange counties for the first time in memory in 2010. This year, every public elementary and middle school in Durham sent a champion speller to the regional bee. Other spellers came from Orange County Schools, and a few represented local charter, private and parochial schools.
Chewning Middle School Principal Jim Key said all 56 spellers were champions, but he never doubted that Ayala Lara would win.
"He's just a tremendous, tremendous person and student," Key said. "He's one of the best students I've had in 27 years."
After congratulating Gbadegesin and the other spellers on a job well done, Vice President for Durham and Regional Affairs Phail Wynn Jr. presented Ayala Lara his prizes and asked what he most looked forward to about visiting the nation's capital for the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
"I think it's really exciting that I might be on TV!" he said.
