The word of the day was “safari.”
After 17 other competitors went down swinging in 11 rounds on an assortment of multi-syllable stumpers, Wheat Middle School seventh grader Preslie Grumbles connected on “safari” to win the Johnson County Spelling Bee on Thursday morning at Cleburne ISD Central Office.
The daughter of Molli Lynch and Jimmy Grumbles will compete in the regional bee at TCU on March 29.
If she performs as well in Fort Worth as she did here, she’ll be hard to beat.
Nine spellers fell by the wayside in the first round of spelling. Two more lost out in the second round, one in the third round and three in the fourth round.
That left Grumbles, Michael Ramirez of Keene ISD and Daniel Chi of Plum Creek Elementary in Joshua. They breezed through the next four rounds before Chi stumbled in the ninth.
Ramirez went out in the 11th round on the word “crochet.” Grumbles didn’t bat an eyelash before delivering “safari” correctly.
Grumbles prepared exhaustively for the county bee, though not to the point of losing sleep.
“I mostly studied the words on the word list during homeroom and at night,” she said. “There were 450 words on the list. I was pretty comfortable with those.”
She mastered the spelling through word association, Grumbles said.
“I tie the words with something familiar that I know. Like tempestuous — I didn’t have to spell that word — there was a character in my book named Tempest. Safari was a pretty easy word. I wasn’t afraid I was going to get something hard for my last one. I studied the hard words.”
This wasn’t Grumbles’ first time at the bee. She competed in third and fifth grades.
“I got second in fifth grade, and when I was younger, I think I was fifth. This year, I got first place school-wide,” she said.
There’s no secret to being able to spell well, Grumbles said.
“You have to basically memorize the word. It doesn’t help me to know what the word means. I basically didn’t know what any of those words meant.”
Grumbles said the same word list will apply in the regional bee.
“I think I’ll do fine.”
Poise is evidently not an issue.
“I wasn’t nervous today,” she said. “Everybody in the audience looked friendly.”
Among the cheeriest was Smith Principal Bill Allen, a renowned student in his years of Cleburne schooling.
Did Allen help Grumbles learn to spell?
She diplomatically replied, “He encouraged me.”
Other participants were Nick Duran, Irving Elementary, Cleburne; Aiden Henderson, Cooke Elementary, Cleburne; Carli Geltmeier, Adams Elementary, Cleburne; Saiya Roberts, Keene Elementary; Allie Sherrod, Keene Junior High; Kaelyn Curtis, Marti Elementary, Cleburne; Chloe Scott, Santa Fe Elementary, Cleburne; Maya Spence; Staples Elementary, Joshua; London Walker, Gerard Elementary, Cleburne; Jordan Robinson, Coleman Elementary, Cleburne; Jayla Patterson, Alvarado South Elementary; Madison Kaminiski, Elder Elementary, Joshua; Hannah Snapka, Caddo Grove Elementary, Joshua; Christian Coble, Loflin Middle School, Joshua; and Bonnie Parker, Lillian Elementary, Alvarado.
Keene ISD
Related Photos
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Johnson County Spelling Bee champion Preslie Grumbles, left, of Smith Middle School in Cleburne and runner-up Michael Ramirez of Keene Adventist Elementary receive their trophies from Cleburne ISD curriculum official Lisa Spence. Grumbles will participate in the regional meet at TCU on March 29. Pete Kendall/Times-Review
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Eighteen students from Johnson County congregated at Central Office of Cleburne ISD for a county spelling bee on Thursday. It was won by Preslie Grumbles of Smith Middle School. Michael Ramirez of Keene Elementary was second. Others participating were Nick Duran, Irving Elementary, Cleburne; Aiden Henderson, Cooke Elementary, Cleburne; Carli Geltmeier, Adams Elementary, Cleburne; Saiya Roberts, Keene Elementary; Allie Sherrod, Keene Junior High; Kaelyn Curtis, Marti Elementary, Cleburne; Chloe Scott, Santa Fe Elementary, Cleburne; Maya Spence; Staples Elementary, Joshua; London Walker, Gerard Elementary, Cleburne; Jordan Robinson, Coleman Elementary, Cleburne; Jayla Patterson, Alvarado South Elementary; Madison Kaminiski, Elder Elementary, Joshua; Hannah Snapka, Caddo Grove Elementary, Joshua; Christian Coble, Loflin Middle School, Joshua; and Bonnie Parker, Lillian Elementary, Alvarado. Pete Kendall/Times-Review
Discussion
For county spellers, it’s quite a safari out there
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For county spellers, it’s quite a safari out there
The word of the day was “safari.” After 17 other competitors went down swinging in 11 rounds on an assortment of multi-syllable stumpers, Wheat Middle School seventh grader Preslie Grumbles connected on “safari” to win the Johnson County Spelling Bee on Thursday morning at Cleburne ISD Central Office.
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