Spelling whiz gains from early successes

Brian Francisco:

Madalyn Richmond seems to have little time for competitive spelling.

First, there is school. Then there are sports: volleyball, basketball, softball and track. And then there is music: piano, saxophone and choir.

But winning a classroom spelling bee when she was in fifth grade "really inspired me, and I studied a whole lot that year," Maddie, 13, said last week.

She went on to win the Williams County, Ohio, bee in 2009 and finished eighth in The Journal Gazette Regional Spelling Bee. Maddie repeated as county winner as a sixth-grader and finished fifth in the regional bee in 2010.

She captured her third straight county bee this year and won the 17-county regional bee, which is presented by Touchstone Energy Cooperatives and IPFW.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at June 2, 2011 1:40 AM
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