News Summary

MIDDLETOWN — A gymnasium full of children broke out in laughs as the final word of the annual spelling bee was read.

Zak Diallo was just a few letters from victory.

"B-U-C-K-W-H-E-A-T," the fourth-grader said and then paused, waiting for that fateful ringing bell that would signal he had spelled it wrong.

But instead, he heard screams and applause from his classmates and the 45 visitors who attended the bee.

The Creekview Elementary student leapt into the air, a smile breaking across his face. He ran into the front office and dialed the phone.

"Mom, I won the spelling bee," he said, his smile uncontainable.

The 10-year-old said he had studied for three hours for the bee.

"It's very exciting," he said, holding a small blue ribbon in his hands.

Though "buckwheat" turned out to be his lucky word, Diallo said "tsunami" is his favorite word to spell.

His bee days aren't over yet, as he'll have the chance to participate in a regional competition in Cincinnati this March.

Twenty-two fourth- and fifth-grade Creekview students participated in the spelling bee Thursday, Jan. 8.

They qualified by placing in the top on a spelling test in their class.

Fifth-grader Kayla Stephens placed second in the bee and fifth-grader Alex Bronston came in third.

Other participants included fourth-graders DeAngelo McDonald, Evelyn White, Destinee Basler, Cameron Cox, Sam Gast, Devin Flinn, Jade Jernigan, Meredith Owens and Sarah Smith; and fifth-graders Giselle Banks, Micah Senft, Nick Turner, Eryne Dailey, Jadin Downs, Destiny Barnes, Alex Culler, Rashad Jones, MaKayla Moore and Deja Purifoy.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2551 or mengle@coxohio.com.