Spellers from all corners of the state gathered at Western Wyoming Community College (Western) in Rock Springs on March 16, to determine which of the many local spelling bee winners would represent Wyoming at the Scripps National Spelling Bee (National Bee).

The National Bee will be held at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in the Washington, D.C. area. The preliminary round will begin on May 28, with the finals held on May 30. Begun in 1925, the National Bee is the nation’s oldest educational competition.

First place winner at the Wyoming State Bee was Eli Jernigan, a seventh-grade student from Kemmerer Junior/Senior High School in Lincoln County. Jernigan will represent Wyoming at the National Bee. He received a $4,000 cash award from the Sweetwater Board of Cooperative Educational Services (SBOCES) to assist with expenses involved in attending the National Bee.

Henry Ensign, also of Kemmerer, made it through the written phase to compete with the top 25 in the verbal competition. He finished in the top 20.

The second place winner was Alexandra Kitterman, a seventh-grade student at Douglas Middle School in Converse County, who received a $200 cash award from SBOCES. Third place was captured by a sixth-grade student from Saratoga Elementary School in Carbon County, Levi Goodwin, who received a $100 SBOCES cash award.

The pronouncer for the event was Dave Lerner from Cheyenne, who has been the pronouncer for the State Bee since 2009. A retired TV news anchor and reporter, he has also been the pronouncer and served on the Board of Directors for the AARP National Spelling Bee.   

Jonathan Make of Cheyenne served as the head judge for the Bee. Jonathan has been a journalist for 30 years. He currently works in communications at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Other judges at the Bee included former congressional staffer Bonnie Cannon, Green River Mayor Pete Rust, and the Honorable John Prokos, as well as the official record keeper Carol Jelaco who is the current chair of both Sweetwater County School District No. 1 and SBOCES Board of Trustees.

This year’s Wyoming State Spelling Bee was once again sponsored and produced by SBOCES, under the direction of Executive Director Dr. Bernadine Craft. SBOCES was grateful for the assistance of the employees of Western, Western Wyoming Beverages, and Jordan’s Cookies. Dr. Craft stated, “Sponsoring a State Spelling Bee is S-P-L-E-N-D-I-D! We could never have done it without the invaluable assistance of so many students and staff at Western, members of the Retired Teachers Association, and the Rock Springs community. We were gratified we could provide this exciting opportunity for so many outstanding young students from around the state.”