Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
A homeschooler outspelled 23 other students Monday in the first round of the Kosciusko County Spelling Bee.
Tyler Petty, a sixth-grader from Homeschool Friends, won the 10-round spelldown between area fifth- and sixth-graders. He is the son of Gordon and Kirsten Petty, Warsaw.
Thirteen students were eliminated from the bee after four rounds. Four more spellers went down in rounds five and six, misspelling "embellish," "querulous," "utterance" and "argumentative." Round seven claimed five victims, leaving only Petty and Cody Williams from Silver Lake Elementary.
Williams missed "pagoda" in the eighth round. Petty spelled "auditorium" in the ninth round, then spelled "pediment" to win the match.
Spelling bee rules have changed slightly this year. Before, when the bee was down to two spellers and one missed a word, the remaining speller would have to spell the missed word, then spell a new word to win. Now, the remaining speller is given a new word instead of respelling the missed word, then must spell another word to claim the title.
As winner of the elementary division, Petty will receive the $2,500 Richard R. Long Scholarship, which comes through the International Palace of Sports Foundation in North Webster.
Williams, a sixth-grader, is the son of David and Rene Williams of Silver Lake.
The county bee continues tonight with the middle school competition. The match begins at 7 p.m. at First United Methodist Church in Warsaw.
Petty and the winner of tonight's match will face off for the county championship at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The finals will be held in the downtown office of WRSW and will be broadcast live on WRSW-AM and WRSW-FM.
