Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Suraj Datta, an eighth-grader from Lakeview, outspelled Ashley Wireman, a Washington Elementary sixth-grader, Wednesday for the championship in the Kosciusko County Spelling Bee.
Datta will go on to represent the county at the district competition in Fort Wayne later this spring.
Wireman successfully spelled "discerned" and "laughable" in the first two rounds, and Datta breezed through "diffusion" and "curvature." Wireman tripped on "promenade," spelling it with an "i" instead of an "e," and Datta then had the chance to spell the same word, which he did correctly.
To clinch his win, Datta successfully spelled "pulpitry."
The whole final phase of the spelling bee - which began at 7 p.m. - took less than 15 minutes and was broadcast live on WRSW AM and FM.
"We're really proud of them and proud of how they represented our county and Warsaw Community Schools," said Patricia Deck, principal of Lakeview Middle School and coordinator of the spelling bee.
Wednesday's judges were Sarah Augsburger and Lorabel Wildman, teachers from Lakeview.
