Collier spelling bee runner-up last year wins this year's district competition

After 2½ hours and 40 rounds, Oakridge Middle School seventh-grader Bharath Ram won the Collier County district spelling bee Tuesday with the word “fortification.”

Bharath will join about 300 other students from across the country to compete at the 91st annual Scripps National Spelling Bee near Washington, D.C., in the last week of May. The final round will take place May 31.

Bharath said he didn’t have much time to study for the bee because he was busy competing in a different academic competition last weekend, so he took Monday off from school to prepare.

“Spelling is one of the things I recognize the value of,” he said. “It’s really useful. A lot of the time I don’t think about it, but anytime I write something it seems like a glaring error if it’s wrong.”

Bharath beat 48 other middle school students to win the title. Last year he came in second in the district competition.

Catherine Graham, an eighth-grader at Donahue Academy of Ave Maria, finished second this year after misspelling “marinade.”

It was Catherine’s third time competing in the district spelling bee. She said she studied “medium-hard.”

“I’m glad I made it this far,” she said. “I was hoping I could win, but second place is fine."

"And the trophy looks nice," she added. 

Three middle school students from each Collier traditional public, charter and private school were invited to compete in Tuesday’s spelling bee. 

The competition’s judges were Sue Roll, who was a Collier public schools educator before retirement, and Leslie Ricciardelli, executive director of secondary programs. Larry Hurst, of Naples, volunteered as the recording judge. The pronouncer was volunteer Lanetta Warrenburg.

Collier spelling bee coordinator Dana Tracy, a literacy coordinator for Collier public schools, said she thought the competition went very well.

“I was really impressed with their patience,” she said. “And they didn’t seem to get too rattled.”

Bharath’s trip to D.C. will be paid for by the Collier school district.

The winner of the national competition will receive $40,000 from Scripps, $2,500 from Merriam-Webster and a trip to New York City to appear on “Live with Kelly & Ryan.” Finalists will receive cash prizes.

Last year’s district spelling bee winner, Surya Dodia, 14, came in sixth place Tuesday after mishearing the word “frenzied” — Surya heard “frenzy.”

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It was Surya’s third and final time participating in the Collier spelling bee. Last year she beat 65 competitors from Collier and Lee counties in a joint district spelling bee. It was the first time the districts joined to put on the spelling bee. 

Surya said her trip to Washington, D.C., was “a lot of fun,” but she doesn’t expect to continue competing.

“It’s not something I’m really passionate about,” she said. “I’d rather see someone win who’s very dedicated and wants to win.”

Bharat appeared to fit that description as he spoke of plans to continue competing in spelling bees at the high school level. He said he expects to prepare diligently for the national competition and already has a membership with spelling bee quiz website spellingbee.com. 

"I feel great. I'm very excited," he said. "I'm going to prepare a lot."

2017 photos: Collier and Lee Spelling Bee

2016 photos: Collier County Spelling Bee