Saturday, February 29, 2020
Joseph Moran, an eighth-grade student from Hayden, spelling during the practice round at the 17th annual North Idaho Regional Spelling Bee at North Idaho College Saturday. This was the fourth year in a row that Moran won the championship.
Eighth-grade student Joseph Moran, of Hayden, won for the fourth year in a row at the 17th annual North Idaho Regional Spelling Bee on Feb. 29 at North Idaho College.
Moran, an Inland Northwest Christian Homeschool student, was awarded a trip to the 2020 Scripps National Spelling Bee, where he will represent North Idaho at the end of May in the Washington, D.C. area
This year’s spelling bee went on for 58 rounds. The first runner-up Sarah Fleshman, an eighth-grade Canfield Middle School student, slipped up on the word “passila,” after correctly spelling “plenipotentiary” in the round prior. Moran correctly spelled the championship word “attache,” to take home his fourth first-place award.
“Joseph Moran’s historic, fourth-time North Idaho Regional Spelling Bee win was not an easy one. Sarah Fleshman kept up with Joseph round-after-round. It was an impressive showing from both of these eighth-graders,” said Maureen Dolan, community relations coordinator at NIC and the coordinator of this year’s spelling bee.
Each of the 38 participants – from public, private, charter and home schools from throughout the region, received medallions.
The event was sponsored, coordinated, and hosted by NIC.