Pictured above, l. to r., are Sean Brooks (winner), Shelli Poole (pronouncer), and Tristen Rea (1st runner-up).
A regional spelling bee champ was named on the afternoon of Friday, February 7th at Bryant High School. Students from Bryant and Bauxite Public School Districts, as well as Arkansas Christian Academy in grades 3 – 8 compete in this contest. This was the Regional Qualifier Competition as part of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Read more below.
Mr. Sean Brooks of Bethel Middle School will advance to the statewide competition on Saturday, March 8th in Little Rock. Whoever wins there, will compete at the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee. It takes place on May 27, May 28, and May 29, 2025, in Washington DC. Visit spellingbee.com beginning May 1, 2025, for a full competition and broadcast schedule.
Ms. Tristen Rea of Bryant Middle School earned the 1st runner-up spot. She will serve as an alternate, in case Mr. Brooks cannot go for some reason.
The competition was tense, starting out with over 20 contestants. Each round eliminated some of them, until there were only two spellers left after the 7th round. And then those two went round and round.
The Scripps Spelling Bee rules dictate that one of the two final contestants must win a round. Then there is a round with only one contestant. That speller must get a final word right in order to win. If the final word isn’t spelled correctly, competition reverts to two contestants.
This scenario went on for several rounds between Mr. Brooks and Ms. Rea. I was the pronouncer for the words, and it was tense for me as well. This was my third year to serve in this capacity and I love doing it, but it’s also stressful. You want them all to win, but they can’t.
Congratulations to Sean Brooks. You earned it. And the final word was “astringent.”
