Cherokee County Middle Schooler Wins Spelling Bee 2nd Year In Row

CHEROKEE COUNTY, GA — Creekland Middle School eighth-grader Huck Wallace correctly spelled “reggae” and then “resplendence” to claim the title as the county’s top speller for the second year in a row at the 2022 Cherokee County School District Spelling Bee on Wednesday night at Cherokee High School.

Miller Inthirathvongsy of Clark Creek Elementary School STEM Academy (fourth grade) captured second, and Isabella Melo-Moreira of Arnold Mill Elementary School (fifth grade) placed third.

Thirty Cherokee County students put their spelling skills to the test in the annual competition, which went 9 rounds over 90 minutes before a winner was decided. Spellers tackled tricky terms like "smellfungus," "dyspeptic" and "abracadabra."

All three students will advance to the regional Georgia Association of Educators (GAE) bee, which will be held at Etowah High School Feb. 26. State winners (March 18 competition) advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee held in Washington, D.C. in June.

The county spelling bee is sponsored each year by Cherokee County Association of Educators and the Georgia Association of Educators. Bekki Couch is the GAE Spelling Bee Coordinator; John Carter of Teasley Middle School served as caller of the words. Judges included Tiffany Robbins, Bekki Couch and Jennifer Campbell.

School level winners were:

• Isabella Melo-Moreira, Arnold Mill Elementary
• Blaire Waddington, Avery Elementary
• Charlotte Murry, Ball Ground STEM Academy
• Annalise Boyadzhyan, Bascomb Elementary
• Quenton Winkler, Boston Elementary
• Nathan Miller, Carmel Elementary
• Miller Inthirathvongsy, Clark Creek STEM Academy
• Nora Leigh Stansell, Clayton Elementary
• Huck Wallace, Creekland Middle
• Yasmeen Gheith, Dean Rusk Middle
• Aiden "AJ" Gonzalez, Digital Elementary
• Pradyumna Vasishta, E.T. Booth Middle
• Elizabeth Gormly, Free Home Elementary
• Reece Aranzado, Freedom Middle
• Caleb Birtwhistle, Hasty Fine Arts Academy
• Grayson Swenson, Hickory Flat Elementary
• Gracelyn Chettiar, Holly Springs STEM Academy
• Mason Denney-Godfrey, Indian Knoll Elementary
• Micah Kampman, Johnston Elementary
• Vance Walden, Knox STEM Academy
• Matteo Poole, Liberty Elementary
• Alex Ward, Little River Elementary
• Molly Thompson, Macedonia Elementary
• Joli Palmquist, Mill Creek Middle
• Evelyn Higginbotham, Mountain Road Elementary
• Tara Fowler, Oak Grove STEAM Academy
• Ansley Roper, R.M. Moore STEM Academy
• Emma Keith, Sixes Elementary
• Cole Mizelle, Teasley Middle
• Youssef Ghaly Guirguis, Woodstock Elementary
• Parker Bunn, Woodstock Middle