Aila Boyd
aboyd@mainstreetnewspapers.com
After 11 rounds of competition, a fifth grader from G.W. Carver Elementary School earned the title of Salem’s top speller at the annual Salem School Division Spelling Bee, held Feb. 5 at Andrew Lewis Middle School.
Abigail Rude clinched the championship by correctly spelling “vendetta,” carefully spelling V-E-N-D-E-T-T-A before an audience in the school auditorium.
Rude competed against spelling champions from the city’s other elementary schools as well as top spellers from all three grade levels at Andrew Lewis Middle School. She is a student in Mrs. Garst’s class at G.W. Carver and also competed alongside her older sister, Allison.
With the win, Rude advances to the regional spelling bee scheduled for March 28 at Radford University. The runner-up and alternate for the regional competition is Andrew Lewis Middle School sixth grader Beth Neilson.
The spelling bee was originally scheduled for January but was postponed because of snow.
Abbie Coleman of WSLS served as guest caller for the second consecutive year. Coleman is a Salem School Division graduate and a former member of the Salem High School state champion forensics team.
Judges for this year’s competition were Leigh Leslie, Lauren Cundiff, Jennifer Dean and Chris Taibbi.
