MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s top spellers battled it out in Madison on Saturday for a chance to advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Each of the 54 contestants at the Badger State Spelling Bee qualified by winning competitions at the school and regional level. After more than three hours and 14 rounds of spelling, Appleton sixth-grader Jacob Martonito took home the trophy for spelling ‘tensiometer’ – a word he said he didn’t know coming into the competition.
“I’m feeling really pumped up,” Martonito said in an interview after his win. “My parents and my family in general, they’ve been really supportive.”
Martonito said he spends an average of two or three hours a day studying words, with a focus on their roots and origins.
Runner-up Ethan Robert of New Berlin will join Martonito at the national bee in Maryland from May 27-29, where they’ll represent Wisconsin while competing against the best of the best from across the country.
Saturday’s performance was particularly special for Donald ‘Jimmy’ McNeil. He took runner-up in the 1949 Badger State Bee when he was 12 years old.
“I went to a one-room country school,” he said. “That was a pretty big deal for a farm boy to go to the big city of Madison and be in this.”
McNeil was impressed by the skill of the current contestants.
“The words that we had back then were much easier,” he said. “The kids here today are much more proficient than we were at those ages.”
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