Eighth-grader nabs county spelling bee

A dark horse competitor came out on top at the Mineral County Spelling Bee in the Superior Elementary School gymnasium Thursday night.

Superior eighth-grader Daylon Kuhl tied for third place in Superior's spelling bee on March 5, just earning him a place in the Thursday night's spelling bee. Despite his third place finish, Kuhl dispatched his competition in four easy rounds and will be representing Mineral County in the Montana State Spelling Bee Saturday, March 29.

“I didn't study but my sister did. I just kind of thought some things over in my head and hoped that this was my year,” Kuhl said.

Kuhl beat out his competition by spelling the words “dynamic” and “admiral” correctly. He said now that he is going to the state spelling bee, he plans to seek out his English teacher's help to study for the vigorous competition he will face there..

Although he did not show his full talent until the county spelling bee, Kuhl is no stranger to these types of competitions. Kuhl said he went to the state geography bee two years ago.

“It is so nerve wracking. Usually to calm myself down, I have to tell a few jokes. It makes everyone else nervous,” Kuhl said. He said that since after this year he will be too old to participate in the spelling bee, it is really exciting to have won.

The student who tied Kuhl in Superior's spelling bee, Mike Reinelt, was the runner-up for the Mineral County Spelling Bee. Reinelt and Kuhl were the only two competitors left when Reinelt barely misspelled “enthusiasm,” giving Kuhl the opportunity to win.

If Kuhl is unable to attend the state spelling bee for any reason, Reinelt will take his place in Helena.

All of the spelling bees were conducted by the Scripps Official Spelling Bee Rules. Spellers had the word pronounced for them by a pronouncer who used the dictionary pronunciation of every word, but was also allowed to provide regional pronunciations. Spellers were then allowed to ask for the word to be repeated, defined, used in a sentence, or for the origin of the word. The pronouncer had to clearly define homonyms, words that sound the same but have different meanings, for competitors.

The spelling bee was judged by three judges selected from each school: Jake Gissin judged for Alberton, Diane Gingerich judged for St. Regis and Angie Hopwood judged for Superior. Superior Elementary School Principal Scott Kinney was the pronouncer.