In one of the most hotly contested county spelling bees in recently memory, the kid with the tough name to spell was the champ.
Edgewood Middle School seventh-grader Tim Ahlersmeyer withstood tough competition from Washington Elementary fifth-grader Anna Bearss to become the 2008 Kosciusko County Spelling Bee Champ Monday night at the Kosciusko County REMC building.
The bee was postponed twice due to weather before being completed Monday.
The win moves Ahlersmeyer one step closer to the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee May 28-29 in Washington, D.C.
The next stop for Ahlersmeyer is the regional spelling bee at Anthis Career Center in Fort Wayne March 15.
Monday night's competition started off as Ahlersmeyer and four other seventh- and eighth-graders competed.
Wawasee Middle School's Allison Sheerer was first to exit in the third round after she misspelled "provolone."
Anne Ondrla, HELPS Home School, was next to exit after she misspelled "spinet."
Milford Middle School's Alexis LeCount bowed out in the eighth round after she incorrectly spelled "geisha."
After Lakeview Middle School's Henry Robison failed to spell his word correctly, Ahlersmeyer won with the correct spelling of "contrapuntal."
Ahlersmeyer advanced to take on Bearss, who was the elementary school champion.
Ahlersmeyer and Bearss needed 35 rounds before Ahlersmeyer correctly spelled "pneumatic" to grab the win.
Bearss misspelled "rottweiler" in the 34th round to leave the door open for Ahlersmeyer.
Ahlersmeyer, who won the elementary school spelling bee last year, said he credits this year's win to hard work.
"About a half hour every day with my mom," said Ahlersmeyer when asked how and how much he practiced.
He's also confident in his chances for the regional competition.
"I think I can win if I work hard," said Ahlersmeyer.
Both Ahlersmeyer and Bearss won a $2,500 scholarship from the Richard R. Long Scholarship fund.
Long, a former principal at North Webster and who presented Ahlersmeyer and Bearss with their awards, said in the last 14 years that Monday night's competition was one of the longest he's seen.
Tim Yeager, Syracuse, served as the spelling bee's pronouncer.
