Charlo 8th-grader wins Lake County Spelling Bee
Daniel Martynowicz
Mike, Suzanah and Bonnie Clark show their enthusiasm at Suzanah winning the county spelling bee..
Suzanah Clark holds her first-place trophy from the Lake County Spelling Bee.
Mike helps Suzanah study for the state competition with her Lake County Spelling Bee trophy in the background
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CHARLO — This year’s Lake County Spelling Bee featured stiff competition from nearly 40 fifth to eighth-grade students throughout the county. Undeterred, Charlo eighth grader Suzanah Clark bested them all by spelling “verbiage” correctly.
According to Lake County Deputy Superintendent of Schools Kate Ike, the Lower Flathead Valley Community Foundation donates $500 toward the top two spellers’ travel expenses so they can attend the state tournament in Billings. Chase Bocksnick of Ronan took second place. The two will compete at that tournament this Saturday.
Clark didn’t miss a single word during the competition and outlasted her competitors to take the trophy home in round seven.
“That was a perfect round for her,” Ike said, adding the words seemed harder this year, and the bee didn’t last as long as it normally does. “Because the words were so hard, it weeded kids out really fast.”
Pronouncer Marilynn Tanner who has run the bee since 2003, said the kids did a nice job.
“Some of the kids were asking me afterward, ‘What’s the hardest part (about running the bee)?’ It’s giving every kid a fair chance. I root for them all.
“It was fun; it is every year. It’s hard, but it’s fun.”
Clark said she is very excited to go to state and that her favorite part of the competition was all the congratulations fromfamily and friends, seeing her picture in newspapers and, “Everyone in my school knowing I'm a really good speller.”
Even with her county championship title, she said she doesn't have spelling tests anymore in school, so she doesn't study very often. Instead, she reads almost every day. Her favorite author is Margaret Peterson Haddix.
“The years before made it awesome because I made it to the end, but this - I felt like the queen of spelling. I still can't stop smiling about it,” she said.
Step-mom Bonnie and father Mike said they were extremely proud; so much so that when Suzanah won, Bonnie had to wait to say congratulations because she was crying so hard.
“We're very proud,” Mike said. “It's great to see your child be number one at something and it's great to see her self confidence boost like that. I hope it helps with her school. One of the first questions she asked after she won was, 'I can put this on my college resume, right?'”
“She just has a knack for spelling,” mom Mandi Gullotta said. “I am very proud of her and excited for her (to compete at state.)”
Clark travels to the state tournament Saturday in Billings, but her family is taking the day off Friday to drive out and see the capital.
“She gets to tour the university too, so we're going to have a 'Montana history day,” Bonnie said.
And while she is studying for the State tournament, Suzanah is already planning to travel to Washington, D.C. for that national tournament.
“That would be awesome,” she said.
