Stone Mountain Middle Schooler Ranks Top 10 In GA Spelling Bee

STONE MOUNTAIN, GA — A DeKalb County middle-school student ranked No. 8 in Georgia's 2021 State Spelling Bee with 49 out of 50 possible points.

Christian Wilson of The Champion School in Stone Mountain tied for eighth place in the state's spelling bee with one other student in Gwinnett County Schools. Wilson tripped up on the word "dishevel." (According to Merriam-Webster, dishevel means "to throw into disorder or disarray.")

Ananya Augustine of Eagle's Landing Middle School in McDonough won the spell-off, held Friday via Zoom.

The 20 Georgia finalists who participated ranged from 9 to 14 years old and were from all parts of the state. All of them took a 30-minute timed test Friday morning that consisted of 25 vocabulary and 25 spelling questions.

One other DeKalb County student was among the 20 Georgia finalists: Sanjeda Jamal of Huntley Hills Elementary School in Chamblee. She tied for third place with three other students.

"We admire the perseverance of our spellers, their families, teachers and schools for making it through the challenges presented by COVID-19. Making it to the state championship this year has a bit of extra special meaning," Georgia Association of Educators President Lisa Morgan said. "We only hope we are in a position for the 2022 cycle to return to the familiar format we all enjoy."

The winners of the Georgia spelling bee — Ananya Augustine of Henry County Schools and Long Nguyen of Gwinnett County Schools— will take part in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which will also be virtual until it is whittled down to 10 to 12 students. The finalists will then travel to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, for in-person competition on July 8.

Visit the Scripps National Spelling Bee website for more information.