It took 13 rounds before Shelby won the championship by spelling the words "scrumptiously" and "burglarious." It took another three rounds for Drenten to secure the runner-up title by spelling "insulin" and "mylar." There were 16 contestants in the finals Friday and each of them did an amazing job spelling words in front of all their classmates and family members in the high school auditorium.
Congratulations to all the finalists: Abby Dumond, Katie Dordan, Michael Sager Wissner, Arisabel Ottley, Ryan Skidmore, Allison Fazio, Sokayne Duch, Andres Ruiz, Sahaara Coston, Emilia Rickert, Margaret Richards, Andrew Bowman, Hanna Ritsema and Connor Hansen. And good luck to Shelby and Jessie as they go on to compete at the Regional Greater Grand Rapids Spelling Bee!