Spellers to show tallents

Columbia County's best spellers will face off Tuesday in the county's annual spelling bee.

The bee, which will be held at 4 p.m. at Grovetown Middle School, will feature the best spellers from each Columbia County elementary and middle school.

"The schools determine their winners," said the county's middle school director of student learning, Mike Lindsey, whose office is overseeing the bee. "The winner competes on a regional level, and then, possibly, the state and national."

The bee is open to pupils who will not reach their 16th birthday by the date of the national finals and who have not passed beyond the eighth grade at the time of their school finals.

Sponsored by The Augusta Chronicle, sister newspaper of The Columbia County News-Times, Tuesday's winner will next compete at a local qualifying bee March 5 at the Morris Auditorium in downtown Augusta, Lindsey said.

"All 18 counties in the area are available to participate," he said.

The national spelling bee will be May 31 through June 2 in Washington, D.C.

Columbia County Spelling Bee Competitors

Tuesday, 4 p.m., Grovetown Middle School

Bel Air Elementary: Kailey Fuller

Alternate: Kelsey Highfield

Blue Ridge Elementary: Shruti Gupta

Alternate: Tamara Riggs

Brookwood Elementary: Kendyl Pennington

Alternate: Sara Stover

Euchee Creek Elementary: Megan Murphy

Alternate: Jonathon Pope

Evans Elementary: Jimmy North

Alternate: Katy Vaughan

Greenbrier Elementary: Cameron Gallahue

Alternate: Caitlin Greene

Grovetown Elementary: Ciara Ladson

Alternate: Amanda Doyle

Lewiston Elementary: Cody McAllister

Alternate: Rhys Cowling

Martinez Elementary: Julie Gabryelski

Alternate: Devon Williams

North Columbia Elementary: Brooke Culpepper

Alternate: Katie Davidson

North Harlem Elementary: Kassie Tenaro

Alternate: Caleb Johnson

Riverside Elementary: Emma Shipman

Alternate: Zachary Vitha

South Columbia Elementary: Ryan Rose

Alternate: Samuel "Sam" Bowman

Stevens Creek Elementary: Thomas Newton

Alternate: Sarah Clark

Westmont Elementary: Taylor Horton

Alternate: Alec Masella

Columbia Middle: Lacey Brock

Alternate: David Zabriskie

Evans Middle: Davey Marana

Alternate: Jeremy Williams

Greenbrier Middle: Kathryn Bonner

Alternate: Jacob Alexander Shafer

Grovetown Middle: Courtney Clark

Alternate: Claire Bearb

Harlem Middle: Katie Driggers

Alternate: Daniel Clement

Lakeside Middle: Vipul Shekhawat

Alternate: Bryan Hayes

Riverside Middle: Savannah Crews

Alternate: Roger Zhong