Freeman Wins County Spelling Bee, Hoskins Middle School Division
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
NORTH WEBSTER – Winning the 2013 Kosciusko County Spelling Bee championship was “ineluctable” for Jefferson Elementary sixth-grader Nathan Freeman Tuesday night. After Lakeview Middle School eighth-grader Cole Hoskins won the middle school division last night at North Webster Elementary, Hoskins and Freeman faced off for the county championship. In round one, Freeman correctly spelled “amateurish,” but Hoskins misspelled “diaphanous” as “diaphenous.” Freeman then correctly spelled “ineluctable” for the victory. Along with receiving a plaque for winning the county spelling bee championship, Freeman now will advance to the 59th annual regional Journal Gazette Spelling Bee, scheduled for 10 a.m. March 9 at the Auer Auditorium in the IPFW Rhinehart Music Center in Fort Wayne. “I’m excited and kind of nervous, too, since it’s Fort Wayne. I’m just really excited I won,” Freeman said. “I will probably study almost every day.” Nathan, the son of Rich and Jami Freeman, Warsaw, went up against 15 other fifth- and sixth-graders in the first round of the 2013 Kosciusko County Spelling Bee Thursday night at North Webster Elementary School. He won the elementary division in seven rounds. Cole, the son of Matt and Leah Hoskins, won the middle school division also in seven rounds. By round six, only Hoskins and Wawasee Middle School sixth-grader Caleb VanLue were left. VanLue misspelled “solipedous” as “soluprious.” Hoskins correctly spelled “jitney” and then “depilatory” for the win. For winning their respective divisions, Freeman and Hoskins each received a trophy and a $2,500 Richard R. Long Scholarship. The scholarship is given in recognition of Long’s years of service to the children, teachers and parents of North Webster School and in honor of his work for the International Palace of Sports, now known as the Shoop Sports and Youth Foundation. The Shoop Foundation funds the spelling bee scholarships to help provide future higher education for the spelling bee winners. The other participants in Tuesday night’s middle school division were: Evan Krueger, Milford Middle School, eighth grade; Eric Williamson, Edgewood Middle School, seventh grade; and Hannah Jansma, Tippecanoe Valley Middle School, sixth grade. Judges for this year’s spelling bee were Doug Hoffert, retired Madison Elementary School teacher; Pam Long, North Webster Community Public Library librarian; and Ann Haffner, North Webster retired teacher. Dr. James Bowling, Grace College, was pronouncer. Kosciusko REMC sponsors the Kosciusko County Spelling Bee and pays for the trophies and participation medals. Sponsors also include the Journal Gazette, Touchstone Energy Cooperatives, IPFW and Barrett & McNagny LLP Attorneys at Law. North Webster Elementary School Principal Kris Woodard serves as this year’s county spelling bee coordinator. North Webster Elementary School is at 5745 N. CR 750E, North Webster.
