It came down to the word “cashier” for Rowena Kyle Elementary School fourth grader Jacob Hoover as he competed in the Porter County Spelling Bee Wednesday night. Jacob, son of Fred and Darla Hoover, out-spelled 27 other fourth graders to capture the championship.
Son of Charlotte and Michael Arman, Nick Arman of George Myers Elementary School came in a close second after misspelling “acronym.” In order for Hoover to claim the title, he had to spell both words.
“Tonight is a night for young people to shine,” said Biff Geiss, a former educator and representative of sponsor Valparaiso Sunrise Kiwanis. “All of our competitors tonight are champions of their home schools. Everyone here is already a winner.”
The top speller from each elementary school fourth grade advanced to the Porter County Spelling Bee to represent his or her school and vie for the title of county champion. Participants had to try to spell words like “citrus” and “abdomen” while tricky words, such as “analyze” and “committee,” were also on the list.
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2012 Porter County Spelling Bee
Fourth Grade Participants
Nick Arman, George Myers Elementary
Tyler Bailey, South Haven Elementary
Jack Barone, St. Paul Catholic
Olivia Broadwater, Union Center Elementary
David Burdine, Yost Elementary
Ben Burow-Flak, Memorial Elementary
Andrew Eichmeier, Thomas Jefferson Elementary
Josh Fedorchak, Central Elementary
Karina Hanson, Jackson Elementary
Ryan Herr, St. Patrick Catholic
Jacob Hoover, Rowena Kyle Elementary
Austin Kawiecki, Morgan Township Elementary
Justine Keiser, Liberty Elementary
Joshua Leath, Brummitt Elementary
Aaron Lukas, Porter Lakes Elementary
Sean Lyons, Hayes Leonard Elementary
Sonnie Mueller, Aylesworth Elementary
Jadon Nielson, Northview Elementary
Matthew Novak, Kouts Elementary
C.J. Opperman, Flint Lake Elementary
Isabel Pati, Parkview Elementary
Zach Regeski, Boone Grove Elementary
Grace Rehtorik, Bailly Elementary
Annika-Ayla Rodriguez, Ethel Jones Elementary
Dominic Thethasdin, John Simatovich Elementary
Matthew Tomszak, Cooks Corners Elementary
Emma Wynkoop, Hebron Elementary
Jenna Young, Washington Township Elementary
2012 Porter County Spelling Bee
Judges
Zach Albers
Betty Brown
Greg Karas
Stacey Schmidt