Two Alaska middle-schoolers are in Washington, D.C., this week for the Scripps National Spelling Bee, a national test of memory and nerves that began preliminary rounds on Tuesday. Aidan Cole, 14, of Kenai and Andie Seavey, 13, of Fairbanks are among 247 competitors trying to survive the first cuts and reach Wednesday’s quarterfinals.
Cole, an eighth-grader at Kenai Middle School, earned his place by winning the Alaska State Spelling Bee in March with the word thrasonical. It is his first year at the national competition, and he said the path there was built on steady drilling. He studied with the Wordbee app, worked through two books his Language Arts teacher gave him and watched last year’s quarterfinals and semifinals to get a feel for the words.
Seavey, a seventh-grader at Boreal Sun Charter School, joins him as the other Alaska student in the field. She spends her time outside school playing percussion, knitting, baking and acting in community and school plays, a mix that fits the kind of patient focus spelling bees demand.
This year’s field includes students from 9 to 15 years old, and the competition is spread across a wide range of schools and programs. Officials said 181 of the 247 contestants attend public schools, 30 attend private schools, 18 attend charter schools and nine each come from homeschool programs and parochial schools. The format leaves little room for error: advancing spellers move on Wednesday, the semifinals begin at 4 a.m. AKDT, and the final round will be televised live Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. on ION.
The stakes are simple and severe. The national champion will receive a $50,000 cash prize and a commemorative medal, while second place gets $25,000 and third place $15,000. Cole said his own run already felt bigger than he expected, calling it “very thrilling” and saying he was not expecting to keep going, especially since his opponent went to Nationals last year. That is the tension in a bee like this: one word can end the trip, and one correct spelling can turn a school-year victory into a national stage.
