Van Wynsberghe county spelling champ

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Una Van Wynsberghe, a sixth-grader at Lincolnview Elementary School, definitely wasn’t seeing things when the judges named her the 2016 Van Wert County spelling champion on Monday night.

Una, daughter of Dewey and Rachel Van Wynsberghe, correctly spelled the word “mirage” during the county spelling bee held in The Marsh Foundation auditorium to win the event.

Grace Doctor, a seventh-grader at Van Wert Middle School and the daughter of Brian and Becky Doctor, placed second, tripping over the word “gregarious” to clear the way for the Lincolnview sixth-grader’s win.

Una, who said she loves to read — especially science-fiction/fantasy books like the Percy Jackson series — said she had practiced, but didn’t overdo it.

“My dad read me words and I spelled them,” she said, adding the competition was a bit stressful, but she felt all the reading she does prepared her pretty well. “I knew a lot of the words.”

Will Una hit the books harder for the much tougher Journal-Gazette Regional Spelling Bee in Fort Wayne, Indiana, next month? — it’s a little hard to say.

“Study more?” was her smilingly vague answer when asked about her plans to prepare for the Fort Wayne event.

While it took less than a half-hour to determine a new county spelling champion, several “spell-off” rounds were needed to come up with the third-place winner. Zander Pence, a seventh-grader at Lincolnview Junior High School and the son of Jeremy and Brittany Pence, won over Van Wert fifth-grader Isabella Mohr, daughter of Justin Mohr and Rosemary Dunno. Isabella missed on the word “trousseaus” and Zander spelled the word “virtuosa” — meaning a talented female musician — to finish in third place.

Van Wert Federal gave winners plaques, as well as $125 to the winner, $100 to the second-place finisher, and $75 to the third-place finisher.

Other competitors were as follows:

Makenna Tice, daughter of Mark and Amanda Tice, a sixth-grader at Crestview Elementary School.

Sophia Kline, daughter of Dan and Heidi Kline, a seventh-grader at Crestview Middle School.

Hannah Binnion, daughter of Kimberly McGinnis, an eighth-grader at Crestview Middle School.

Lily Price, daughter of Tabitha and Noa Collins and Robert Price, a fifth-grader at Lincolnview Elementary.

Emma Hatcher, daughter of John and Heather Hatcher, a fifth-grader at St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic School.

Robert Spath Jr., son of Robert and Sara Spath, a sixth-grader at Van Wert Middle School.

Angelina Haller, daughter of Jody and Lisa Haller, an eighth-grader at Van Wert Middle School.

Evan McClellan, a fifth-grader at Crestview Elementary and the son of Danielle McClellan, won his class bee, but didn’t compete on Monday.

Mark Schumm of Van Wert Federal Savings Bank presented plaques and cash awards to the top three winners.

Lincolnview Curriculum Coordinator Jeff Humason, an employee of the Western Buckeye Educational Service Center (WBESC), was master of ceremonies for the spelling bee, while Sandra Freeman, county spelling bee coordinator for the WBESC.

Doug Grooms, school psychologist/special services coordinator for Van Wert City Schools, was the pronouncer for the event, while judges included Van Wert Middle School Principal Mark Bagley, Lincolnview Junior-Senior High School Principal Brad Mendenhall, and Crestview Program Services Director Keith Rydell.

Lincolnview Marsh School provided set-up for the spelling bee, while the greeter was Lincolnview Elementary Principal Nita McKinney.