The best spellers at W.O. Parmer Elementary School went head to head during the school’s annual spelling bee on Friday. The event kicked off at 12:30 p.m. at the school library.

Principal Carole Teague welcomed family members of the contestants to the event and spoke of &uot;the very fine group of boys and girls we have competing today&uot;.

&uot;They are all good spellers and I know they have been working hard to become even better spellers in the last few weeks…I wish you all good luck,&uot; said Teague.

Mrs. Thorton and Mrs. Coon served as judges for the spelling bee, with Mrs. Gunter acting as the dictionary expert. Mrs. Rudolph presented the spelling words to the contestants.

Before the competition began, Mrs. Coon reminded everyone of the rules and regulations and gave the competitors some good advice.

&uot;Remember to concentrate on Mrs. Rudolph and not on your mamas and daddies…now, take a big, deep breath, shake it loose and relax…ready? Let’s begin.&uot;

The 20 students on stage shrunk to 16, then 12, then to ten as, one by one, a tough word tripped up the participants.

Brows furrowed, sweaty palms were pressed against legs, and onlookers could practically see the wheels turning in the young heads, as the remaining spellers concentrated on the more difficult words being given to them.

Finally only two students were left on stage – second grader Larry Scruggs from Mrs. Dunn’s class, and from Mrs. Phillip’s second grade class, Steiner Hamilton.

When Dunn misspelled &uot;sandwich&uot;, it was up to Hamilton to spell the last two words correctly.

When Hamilton aced the spelling of &uot;question&uot; and &uot;children&uot;, he was declared the winner and Scruggs the runner-up. The new W. O. Parmer spelling bee champ pumped his hand in triumph.

Principal Teague congratulated the winners and presented them with certificates and prizes, including a GHS tiger mascot doll.

&uot;I want to remind you all that you are winners, even if you weren’t still up here on stage at the end – you worked hard to get to this point and you should be proud,&uot; Teague said.

Hamilton will now go on to compete at the county -wide spelling bee, scheduled for February 4 at 9 a.m. in the Greenville Elementary Gym.

Steiner’s parents, Pete and Mary Ann Hamilton, declared themselves &uot;delighted&uot; over their son’s win as he enjoyed the hard-earned refreshments of cookies and soft drinks after the competition.

Spelling bee winners from the school’s homerooms included Jada Croxton and Taylor Waller (Pritchett); Anne Claire McNaughton and Saigelyn Rudolph (Barr); Rialexus Patterson (Bogan); Meghan Cook (S. Coleman); David Lewis and Lauren Gibson (Benson); Jayla Crenshaw and Analeise Trawick (Brady); Cassie Herring and Takira Walker (Bates); Markita Crittenden and Donnell George (Gregory); Lindsey Gibson and Mary Lecoq (Norman); Jennifer Maciel (Long); Quinshayla Jenkins (Tracy); Larry Scruggs and Danisha Moore (Dunn); Demontrez Smith and Will Morris (Nelson); Cindy Scruggs and Zachary Weaver (Scott); Talia Lewis (Bass); Steiner Hamilton (Phillips) and Courtney Neese and Shaluv Bedgood (Gibson).