VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The 2022 Barnes County Spelling Bee was held Tuesday, February 8 in the Hi-Liner Activity Center for grades 5-8. The top two spellers in grades 5-6 and the top two spellers in grades 7-8 from every school in the county were invited.
Participating schools were Barnes County North, Litchville-Marion, Maple Valley, St. Catherine’s, Washington Elementary, and Valley City Junior High.
Spelling Bee Advisor teacher Kristi Shanenko said sixteen spellers arrived to showcase their talents in three rounds: 50 written words, 7 vocabulary words, and 3 oral words. All spellers received the same 60 words with the goal of sending the top two in the county to represent Barnes County at state. Students completed the three rounds in an hour and a half.
Place winners in the 5th and 6th division: Champion Quin Kruger, Washington Elementary; 2nd place Theresa Peterson, Maple Valley; 3rd place Bethani Schuldheisz, St. Catherine’s.
Place winners in the 7th and 8th division: Champion Cole Haugen, Valley City Junior High; 2nd place Ian Elston, Barnes County North; 3rd place Sam Thiel, Valley City Junior High.
Overall winners: Champion Cole Haugen, Valley City Junior High, and runner-up Quin Kruger, Washington Elementary.
Shanenko said good luck to Cole and Quin as they prepare for state competition at the Bismarck Event Center on March 21, and a special thanks to the VCSU English Club for their help in hosting the Spelling Bee in Valley City.
