Photo: Barnes County Spelling Bee Champion Ceanna Walker, Valley City Junior High, and Barnes County Spelling Bee Runner-Up Annaliese Mueller, Barnes County North

VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The 2023 Barnes County Spelling Bee was held Thursday, February 2, at 1 PM 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.

Sixteen spellers arrived to showcase their talents in three rounds: 40 written words, 7 vocabulary words, and 3 oral words. All spellers received the same 50 words with the goal of sending the top two in the county to represent Barnes County at state.

Place winners in the 5th and 6th division: Annaliese Mueller, Barnes County North, 1st ; Ayden Hannig, Maple Valley, 2nd ; Cooper Anderson, Washington Elementary, 3rd.

Place winners in the 7th and 8th division: Ceanna Walker, Valley City Junior High, 1st ; Ian Elston, Barnes County North, 2nd ; Aubree Nelson, Maple Valley, 3rd.

State-Bound: Barnes County Spelling Bee Champion Ceanna Walker, Valley City Junior High, and Barnes County Spelling Bee Runner-Up Annaliese Mueller, Barnes County North.

Good luck to Ceanne and Annaliese as they prepare for state competition at the Bismarck Event Center on March 20, and a special thanks to VCSU students Grace Mueller and Clare Ebsen and VCSU professor Dr. Travis Knapp for their help in hosting the bee.