Rooks County represented well at the Sunflower State Spelling Bee

Rooks County Spelling Bee Champion Lyla Oller represented her county well at the Sunflower State Spelling Bee, held on Saturday, March 23rd, at Mabee Arena at Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina.

Oller, a Stockton sixthgrade student, went up against the best spellers in the state, correctly spelling her way through four rounds. Oller’s words were “obscure,” “globular,” (vocabulary) “longitude,” and “Histrionics.”

Going into the fifth round, Oller was one of only 19 students out of the starting 88! She went out on the word (vocabulary) “Matriculation,” along with five other contestants in the fifth round. She finished 15th out of the 88 spellers!

Lyla said about her experience, “It was fun and challenging, but also nerve wracking. But even though it was hard I felt it was a good experience. I am pretty proud of myself for getting 15th place in the state!”

Butler County Champion Carey Chesire from Andover Middle School won the contest in the 16th round after correctly spelling the word “Ahuehuete,” the name of a Mexican cypress tree of great circumference. The name comes from the words in the Aztec language Nahuatl, which means “upright drum in water” or “old man in water,” referring to the tree’s longevity and the great amounts of water it requires to survive. He will now represent Kansas at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D. C., in May.

Way to go, Lyla, on your fine showing at the state competition! You did your county proud!

Lyla is the daughter of Drs. Michael and Beth Oller of Stockton.