Arizona Spelling Bee 2009

Each year, the state’s best spellers in grades K-8 come together for the Arizona Spelling Bee to determine who will represent Arizona in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. Hosted by Eight, Arizona PBS, the Arizona Spelling Bee is taped at the Eight studios on the downtown Phoenix campus of Arizona State University.

An Eight original production made possible by the Arizona Educational Foundation.

Each year, the state’s best spellers in K-8 come together for the Arizona Spelling Bee to determine who will represent Arizona in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. Hosted by Eight/KAET-TV, the annual event is taped at the Eight studios on the campus of Arizona State University. The winner and an escort receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. to compete with spellers from across the nation.

Judges are W. Gary Hull, SRP and Arizona Educational Foundation; Danielle Yuhasz, Community Relations Manager, U.S. Airways; and Jeannine Berg, Community Partnerships, Eight/KAET.

The Spelling Bee challenges children to utilize their spelling and phonetic skills in a competitive environment. The finalists must first win a series of competitions at local, district and regional or county levels.

Congratulations to all the contestants!

Finalists:

Student, Grade, School, City – County

Parker Greer, 7th grade, St. Johns Middle School, St. Johns – Apache

Cheyenne Davis, 6th grade, St. David Middle School, St. David – Cochise

Austin Crane, 6th grade, DeMiguel Elementary School, Flagstaff – Coconino

Irene Pitterle, 8th grade, Holy Angels Catholic School, Globe – Gila

Seth Brummer, 8th grade, Home School, Pima – Graham

Anthony Perez, 8th grade, Duncan Elementary School, Duncan – Greenlee

Jessica Rascon, 8th grade, The Scholars’ Academy, Quartzsite – La Paz

Raymie Humbert, 8th grade, Kyrene del Pueblo School, Chandler – 2ND Place – Maricopa – Region 1

Hannah Miao, 5th grade, Kyrene del Sureno School, Chandler – Maricopa – Region 1

So-Young Chung, 7th grade, Terramar Elementary School, Peoria – WINNER – Maricopa – Region 2

Michael Haarmann, 6th grade, Highland Lakes Elementary School, Glendale – Maricopa – Region 2

Hannah Fechter, 7th grade, Alhambra Traditional School, Phoenix – 4TH Place – Maricopa – Region 3

Connor Wade, 8th grade, Vista Del Sur School, Laveen – Maricopa – Region 3

Jose Corral, 8th grade, Sweetwater School, Glendale – Maricopa – Region 4

Mark Morrissey, 5th grade, Lookout Mountain School, Phoenix – Maricopa – Region 4

Alondra Gomez, 7th grade, Carden Traditional School, Surprise – Maricopa – Region 5

Jazmyne Holwegner, 5th grade, Ruth Fisher Elementary School, Tonopah – Maricopa – Region 5

Vikaas Krithivas, 7th grade, Hamilton Prep, Chandler – Maricopa – Region 6

Jason Qian, 6th grade, Highland Park Elementary School, Gilbert – Maricopa – Region 6

David Joe, 8th grade, White Cliffs Middle School, Kingman – 5TH Place – Mohave

Krista Keeley, 6th grade, Blue Ridge Middle School, Lakeside – Navajo

Jim Denker, 8th grade, Christian Home Educators, Tucson – 3RD Place – Pima

Evan Mayer, 8th grade, Cross Middle School, Tucson – Pima

Aniket Panda, 7th grade, Cactus Middle School, Casa Grande – Pinal

Annel Rojas, 5th grade, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado School, Nogales – Santa Cruz

Kelly Johnson, 8th grade, Heritage Christian Home Educators, Chino Valley – Yavapai

Zeeshan Jawaid, 4th grade, Pueblo Elementary School, Yuma – Yuma

*contestants arranged in alphabetical order by county