GALION — Galion Intermediate and Galion Middle School students have qualified through local competition to take part in this year’s Crawford County Spelling Bee.

When the dust settled, six students earned the right to represent Galion at Bucyrus High School on Thursday, Jan. 11.

The first exercise was a spelling test given to students in grades three through eight in the district.

The top spellers in each grade level were recognized, and include: Third grade — Katelyn McMullen, Alandria Thomas and Wesley Nulk; Fourth grade — Paige Beach, Kamryn Amore, Courtney Voick; Fifth grade — Jillian Capretta, Eva Slone, Cohen Pierce, Ella Steele and Falco Frank; Sixth grade — Courtney Woerlein, Wyatt Estep, Chassidy Flater; Seventh grade — Adam Geiger, Micah Brown, Cole Fournier; Eighth grade — Jacob Baber, Regin Kuehlman and Grayden Pierce.

“Congratulations to all students in the Galion Intermediate and Middle Schools who performed well in the initial round of spelling tests,” said Gifted Coordinator Leanna Ferreira. “Moving into higher spelling bee competitions requires students to move from memorizing a list to learning the rules behind spelling.”

Following grade-level spelling tests, students were given a district-wide spelling test. From this competition, six Galion students were invited to compete in the Crawford County Spelling Bee at Bucyrus High School on Jan. 11.

Courtney Woerlein (6th grade), Chassidy Flater (6th grade), Wyatt Estep (6th grade), Adam Geiger (7th grade), Regin Kuehlman (8th grade) and Grayden Pierce (8th grade) were selected to represent the district in the County Spelling Bee.

Courtney Woerlein and Jillian Capretta were also selected to represent Galion in the Scripps Online Spelling Bee, which is the first step in the Scripps National Spelling Bee competition.

“I want to commend our students for their great performance in the various spelling bee exercises and competitions , and say thank you to the staff and parents who helped prepare these students,” said Superintendent Jim Grubbs. “I am excited to see how the district’s Crawford County Spelling Bee representatives perform against students from the area. I speak for the entire Galion City School District when I say good luck to Jillian and Courtney!”