HOULTON, Maine — A small group of just six students competed Thursday for the title of top speller at Greater Houlton Christian Academy.
And for the first time in four years, a student other than Jessica Quint was crowned the school champion. Sixth-grader Aimon Simoes took home the honor as he correctly spelled the words “oceanography” and “vanquishment.”
Quint, who was no longer eligible to compete as she is now a freshman, had won the school bee for three straight years and was runner-up at the Aroostook County Bee in 2016.
GHCA’s spelling bee lasted about 30 minutes and featured several complex words once the field had been narrowed down to the final two spellers. Simoes battled through 11 rounds with the eventual runner-up, eighth-grader Brock Thompson.
The two had to tangle with a number of increasingly difficult words that included “vicissitudes,” which is defined as “a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant;” “Kilimanjaro,” a dormant volcano in Tanzania; “pestiferous,” defined as “harboring infection and disease”; and “hermetically,” which is defined as “in a way that is completely airtight.”
Both Simoes and Thompson will compete in the Aroostook County Spelling Bee set for Thursday, Feb. 8, at 6 p.m. at the University of Maine at Fort Kent’s Fox Auditorium. The winner of that event will advance to the state spelling bee. That date for that event was not available.
Other GHCA students participating in the bee were seventh-graders Grace Flewelling, Marissa Dow, Drew Duttweiler and Anton Mowrey.
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- Greater Houlton Christian Academy students who competed in their school’s spelling bee Thursday morning are, from left, Antown Mowrey, Grace Flewelling, Marissa Dow, Drew Duttweiler, Brock Thompson and Aimon Simoes. (Joseph Cyr)
