VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The 2024 Barnes County Spelling Bee was held Tuesday, February 6 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 the state Spelling Bee.
Place winners in the 5th and 6th division: Lane Nielson, Washington Elementary, 1st ; Owen Hovda, Barnes County North, 2nd ; Cassandra Hansen Maple Valley, 3rd.
Place winners in the 7th and 8th division: John Oakland, Valley City Junior High, 1st ; Ceanna Walker, Valley City Junior High, 2nd ; Theresa Peterson, Maple Valley, 3rd.
State-Bound: Barnes County Spelling Bee Champion John Oakland and Barnes County Spelling Bee Runner-Up Ceanna Walker, both from Valley City Junior High.
Good luck to John and Ceanna as they prepare for state competition to be held in the Bismarck Event Center March 18, and a special thanks to VCSU students Clare Ebsen, Annika Van Peursem, Ellie Powell, Lilybeth Townsend, and Erik Peterson along with VCSU professor Dr. Travis Knapp for their help in hosting the bee.
