Kaleb Miller the lone bit of residue left at Berlin spelling bee
In the dictionary, residue is a small amount of something that remains after the largest part of something has been removed.
At the Berlin Elementary spelling bee on Monday, Jan. 23, that bit of residue, which was left over once all but one of the 35 contestants had taken their best shot at winning the bee were gone, was one Kaleb Miller, who spelled the word residue to become the 2012 Berlin Elementary champion.
“I did not really expect this at all,” said Miller, who out-dueled runner-up Grace Mullet for five rounds once the other competition had fallen to the wayside. Over the final five rounds, Miller nailed the words barracks, intercept, parasite, chickabiddy and intrigue, while Mullet hit on adequate, onslaught, duress and disappearance. It wasn’t until round 17, when Mullet misspelled impenetrable, that the door was opened for Miller to be crowned champion.
“I wasn’t 100 percent sure about residue, but I felt pretty good about it when I heard it,” said Miller.
A total of 35 students participated in the bee, although illness forced Jordan Yoder from the competition. The grueling two hour marathon bee took flight with the easier words first, although several students were tripped up early, six participants exiting after round one, round two claimed four more students, and round three saw three more go down. Round four was a particularly tough one, with six students taking a seat on words like thermos, fronds and droll, and five more were shown the door in round five, leaving the top eight students still seated, their numbers in their laps.
Kyle Mast exited on the word marshmallow to finish ninth, while Cameron Hershberger finished eighth, missing the word replete in round eight. One round later Taylor Oswalt settled for seventh when he misfired on vegetarian, and Scott Troyer finished sixth when he missed embryo in round 11. Fifth place went to Arryn Schlabach, who misfired on the word municipal in round 12, and Gabe Brown came in fourth that same round when he was unable to correctly spell the word pristine.
That left Miller, Mullet and Terrell Gingerich as the final three, all three guaranteed to take home some hardware and gift cards to Java Jo Coffee Bar.
Round 13 claimed Gingerich, who missed competently, which left just the two finalists standing.
“I wish I could send you all on to GlenOak for the Regionals,” said Berlin principal Darren Blochlinger to the students, who had reassembled in their chairs in front of the student body, in front of whom they had the pressure of spelling. “You’ve done a great job.”
The 35 students marked a high-water point for Berlin entries as far as Blochlinger could recall, and the big turnout made for a lengthy bee.
“That was by far the longest bee we have ever had,” commented Rachel Kaufman, who served as a judge along with secretary Carol Alberts. “I can’t ever remember one going this long, or having this many kids participate.”
“Most of the time getting at least 20 kids to participate in this is like pulling teeth, but these guys just signed up right away,” added Blochlinger. “They did a great job.”
Blochlinger also said that the spelling bee experience is good for the students because it helps them conquer the fear of getting up in front of large crowds and performing.
As for the winner, Miller will now move on to compete at the Regional level at GlenOak in March, something that comes as a surprise to him, since he didn’t expect to win.
“I studied some at home and during study halls here at school,” said Miller. “I don’t know how I’ll do at the next level.”
Miller was confident in most of the words that came his way, but was fortunate on one. The words fajitas is one which continually tripped him up during his practice time, so he worked on it pretty hard. Wouldn’t you know, the word popped up in round 11, and he nailed it, due in large part to his diligence to finally get it right.
“I kept wanting to put an “e” in where the “a” goes,” said Miller. “After a while I guess it finally sunk in.”
Miller will join spelling bee champions from other schools in Holmes County at GlenOak High School, including champions from West Holmes Middle School, Hiland Middle School, Chestnut Ridge Elementary and Lakeville Elementary.
Miller is the son of Kevin and Kathy Miller, Mullet is the daughter of Joe and Sherri Mullet and Gingerich is the son of Merle and Rhoda Gingerich.
At the Berlin Elementary spelling bee on Monday, Jan. 23, that bit of residue, which was left over once all but one of the 35 contestants had taken their best shot at winning the bee were gone, was one Kaleb Miller, who spelled the word residue to become the 2012 Berlin Elementary champion.
“I did not really expect this at all,” said Miller, who out-dueled runner-up Grace Mullet for five rounds once the other competition had fallen to the wayside. Over the final five rounds, Miller nailed the words barracks, intercept, parasite, chickabiddy and intrigue, while Mullet hit on adequate, onslaught, duress and disappearance. It wasn’t until round 17, when Mullet misspelled impenetrable, that the door was opened for Miller to be crowned champion.
“I wasn’t 100 percent sure about residue, but I felt pretty good about it when I heard it,” said Miller.
A total of 35 students participated in the bee, although illness forced Jordan Yoder from the competition. The grueling two hour marathon bee took flight with the easier words first, although several students were tripped up early, six participants exiting after round one, round two claimed four more students, and round three saw three more go down. Round four was a particularly tough one, with six students taking a seat on words like thermos, fronds and droll, and five more were shown the door in round five, leaving the top eight students still seated, their numbers in their laps.
Kyle Mast exited on the word marshmallow to finish ninth, while Cameron Hershberger finished eighth, missing the word replete in round eight. One round later Taylor Oswalt settled for seventh when he misfired on vegetarian, and Scott Troyer finished sixth when he missed embryo in round 11. Fifth place went to Arryn Schlabach, who misfired on the word municipal in round 12, and Gabe Brown came in fourth that same round when he was unable to correctly spell the word pristine.
That left Miller, Mullet and Terrell Gingerich as the final three, all three guaranteed to take home some hardware and gift cards to Java Jo Coffee Bar.
Round 13 claimed Gingerich, who missed competently, which left just the two finalists standing.
“I wish I could send you all on to GlenOak for the Regionals,” said Berlin principal Darren Blochlinger to the students, who had reassembled in their chairs in front of the student body, in front of whom they had the pressure of spelling. “You’ve done a great job.”
The 35 students marked a high-water point for Berlin entries as far as Blochlinger could recall, and the big turnout made for a lengthy bee.
“That was by far the longest bee we have ever had,” commented Rachel Kaufman, who served as a judge along with secretary Carol Alberts. “I can’t ever remember one going this long, or having this many kids participate.”
“Most of the time getting at least 20 kids to participate in this is like pulling teeth, but these guys just signed up right away,” added Blochlinger. “They did a great job.”
Blochlinger also said that the spelling bee experience is good for the students because it helps them conquer the fear of getting up in front of large crowds and performing.
As for the winner, Miller will now move on to compete at the Regional level at GlenOak in March, something that comes as a surprise to him, since he didn’t expect to win.
“I studied some at home and during study halls here at school,” said Miller. “I don’t know how I’ll do at the next level.”
Miller was confident in most of the words that came his way, but was fortunate on one. The words fajitas is one which continually tripped him up during his practice time, so he worked on it pretty hard. Wouldn’t you know, the word popped up in round 11, and he nailed it, due in large part to his diligence to finally get it right.
“I kept wanting to put an “e” in where the “a” goes,” said Miller. “After a while I guess it finally sunk in.”
Miller will join spelling bee champions from other schools in Holmes County at GlenOak High School, including champions from West Holmes Middle School, Hiland Middle School, Chestnut Ridge Elementary and Lakeville Elementary.
Miller is the son of Kevin and Kathy Miller, Mullet is the daughter of Joe and Sherri Mullet and Gingerich is the son of Merle and Rhoda Gingerich.
Published: January 25, 2012
