Haley Tate wins Saline County Spelling Bee with 'zoology'
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[An 11-minute Saline County Spelling Bee Monday night ended with Galatia eighth-grader Haley Tate taking home the winner's plaque and plans to study hard for the next round.
The first round at Harrisburg Middle School library was heartbreaking for four spellers who were immediately eliminated.
Harrisburg seventh-grader Aaron Stephens spelled "unkempt" correctly.
The bells of judges Bethany Scates and Greg Segraves rang following Eldorado seventh-grader Samuel Coker's incorrect spelling of "desolate" and the bells continued ringing as Galatia seventh-grader Becky Gregory missed "testimony," Eldorado fifth-grader Takiya Britton missed "abominable" and Harrisburg eighth-grader Ryan Williams missed "delicacy."
Tate correctly spelled "medallion" to end the first round.
Stephens and Tate went two rounds before Stephens incorrectly spelled "capillary."
Tate correctly spelled "bombastic" and then the winning word "zoology."
Tate used a mental exercise to prepare herself for the bee.
"I read our words and I spelled them in my head. I visualized the words in my head," Tate said.
She also made a practice of writing out the words in a notebook.
Tate, daughter of Travis and Jennifer Tate, said she had not necessarily set a goal of winning the county bee and advancing to Evansville, Ind., but she considered the possibility.
"It just happened," Tate said.
The Tri-County Spelling Bee is 11 a.m. March 5 at Eykamp Hall, Ridgway University Center at the University of Evansville.
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DeNeal receives e-mail at http://bdeneal@yourclearwave.com.</li>
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