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Cato-Meridian crowns spelling bee champion

A tense final round and two correctly spelled words sealed the win at Cato-Meridian’s annual Spelling Bee.

Cato-Meridian Elementary School recognized 18 students for top spelling performances after a written competition in grades four through six, followed by an oral Spelling Bee held Jan. 13.


The written Spelling Bee took place two weeks earlier and determined which students advanced to the oral round. Those top spellers represented fourth, fifth, and sixth grades.

Fourth-grade honorees included Anne Laing, Jaxson LeRoy, Kody Schroeder, Zackary LeRoy, Lily Cali, and Carson Kent. Fifth-grade winners were Lirael Garrett, Savanna Mantell, Eliott Miner, Cicily Kline, Norah Schell, and Dixon McClain. Sixth-grade standouts included Brinley Emond, Anya Regester, Maya Wegman, Jadon Gray, Emerson Daino, and Grantley Grady.

All students in grades two through six attended the oral competition, along with families of the top spellers.

“Our top 18 spellers demonstrated outstanding poise and confidence as they competed in our Spelling Bee,” said Danielle Mahoney, elementary school principal.

After 10 rounds of competition, Lirael Garrett claimed the Spelling Bee championship by correctly spelling the words “commotion” and “immigrants.”

Garrett will advance to the next level of competition in February. She will be joined by runners-up Grantley Grady, Anne Laing, and Zackary LeRoy.