TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) - Studying millions of words during her months of training did not completely prepare Anna Cockfield for what became a rigorous spelling bee.
Anna, a 13-year-old Petoskey Middle School student, reviewed lists of words from different origins with help from her mother, Kara, who quizzed her nearly every night beginning late last year.
She took what she learned and applied it sitting atop the State Theatre stage with dozens of other students who competed to take home the 2017 Grand Traverse Regional Spelling Bee crown and an all-expense paid trip for her and a parent to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.
The Traverse City Record-Eagle (https://bit.ly/2nWgGsI ) reports Anna squared off against the 2016 regional spelling bee winner Casey Donahue, successfully spelling challenging words like “symmetrophobia,” ’’voortrekker” and “uitlander.”
Members of the audience chuckled and gasped as Anna and Casey dueled, taking turns to spell, going back and forth like a heated tennis match.
“It was really scary,” Anna said. “You’re always hoping they spell the word wrong. The feeling is mutual, I’m sure.”
Anna’s mother and father, Pete, and other family members watched her take the stage with the region’s best spellers who earned their seats by winning classroom and county spelling bees in Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska or Leelanau counties.
The pool of competitors gradually drained while Anna continued advancing.
The family still could not fathom the intensity and difficulty of the last few rounds that presented words with foreign origins and complicated formations, leading the spellers to ask the event’s pronouncer, Kate Botello with Interlochen Public Radio, to repeat the word, use it in a sentence and clarify additional pronunciations.
“I have no idea where she came up with some of those words,” Kara said.
Anna’s parents acknowledged how hard a worker their daughter is and said they are excited for Anna’s first trip to the nation’s capital in late May to spell on the national stage.
“It’s a huge accomplishment,” Pete said. “We couldn’t be more proud of her.”
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Information from: Traverse City Record-Eagle, https://www.record-eagle.com
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