Crest Middle School student wins her second spelling bee

Dustin George, The Shelby Star
·2 min read
Addison Champion, from Crest Middle School, spells the winning word during The Star and Cleveland County Schools Spelling Bee held Wednesday morning, March 23, 2022, at the Cleveland Community College Auditorium on South Post Street in Shelby.
Addison Champion, from Crest Middle School, spells the winning word during The Star and Cleveland County Schools Spelling Bee held Wednesday morning, March 23, 2022, at the Cleveland Community College Auditorium on South Post Street in Shelby.

Before going to bed Tuesday night, Crest Middle School eighth-grader Addison Champion got a text message from her mom.

"It said don't forget how to spell ferret," said Champion.

That advice turned out to be sage indeed as ferret was the exact word Champion needed to claim The Star and Cleveland County Schools Spelling Bee Wednesday morning.

"Ferret is a word that I've had a hard time with before. When it was the last word I just looked at my mom in the crowd and started smiling," said Champion.

Ferret wasn't the only serendipitous word to come up for Champion, either.

"Her first word she had to spell was baptismal, and she was just baptized a few weeks ago," said Kali Champion, Addison's father.

Champion outlasted and out-spelled 22 other students in grades four through eight to claim the 2022 spelling bee trophy, and a trip to Washington D.C. for the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

This year's list of words contained some challenges for students including zygote, medusa, bittern, impeachable, juxtapose and tempestuous.

Champion admitted her win did come off the back of some luck, however. In the final round of the competition she misspelled perpetrator, and North Elementary School student James Welsh was able to correctly spell the word, putting him one word away from the championship. Welsh missed what would have been the final word of the competition, fido, allowing Champion a second chance to win.

Wednesday's win is Champion's second county spelling bee trophy. She previously won while in fourth grade at Springmore Elementary. That year, she made it to the second round of the national bee before being eliminated.

"It's kind of crazy. I wasn't real sure I would make it again," Champion said. "I'm excited. I think I can do better this time."

The Scripps National Spelling Bee will be hosted in Washington D.C. starting May 31. The bee will be broadcast by ESPN on ESPN2 and ESPNU.

Addison Champion, from Crest Middle School, is the champion and James Welsh, from North Elementary School, is the runner-up in The Star and Cleveland County Schools Spelling Bee held Wednesday morning, March 23, 2022, at the Cleveland Community College Auditorium on South Post Street in Shelby.
Addison Champion, from Crest Middle School, is the champion and James Welsh, from North Elementary School, is the runner-up in The Star and Cleveland County Schools Spelling Bee held Wednesday morning, March 23, 2022, at the Cleveland Community College Auditorium on South Post Street in Shelby.

This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: Shelby Star spelling bee winner