Wilt wins regional spelling bee

“Nachtmusik,” a German word for serenade, was music to the ears of a Martinsville East middle schooler during the weekend.

Alexandria Wilt won the 11th annual IU Bee, a regional competition for the Scripps Annual Spelling Bee, on Saturday.

Wilt, an eighth-grader at Martinsville East Middle School, outspelled 26 other contestants in 15 rounds and confirmed her victory in a championship round by spelling “nachtmusik.”

“I just wanted to scream,” Wilt said about how she felt upon winning the bee.

Wilt will travel to Washington, D.C., in May to compete in the national
competition.

Twenty-seven students from five area counties competed in front of a completely full auditorium in the Monroe County Public Library. Contestants ranged from grades four to eight.

Some donned their Sunday best, and others wore everyday jeans and fleeces.

Some were eliminated on their first words, parting the stage after the proctors’ routine, “I’m sorry.”

Some stayed to hear the bell’s ding affirm a correct spelling many times over.

Pronouncer Allan Murphy gave words of encouragement at the beginning of the competition.

“This is a room full of champions,” Murphy said.

To enter the regional competition, spellers had to win their school or local bees. Wilt said she won her school’s bee a few weeks ago.

Wilt said going to the national championship has always been a dream of hers.
 
“There was a girl from my town who went to D.C. twice in a row, and I looked up to her,” she said.

As the winner, Wilt’s trip to D.C. is paid for, as well as for one of her parents. Wilt and her parents, Chris and Cindy, are not sure which one will go yet.

“That’s where the fight begins,” Chris said, jokingly.

Wilt also won a year-long subscription to the Britannica Encyclopedia, a Merriam-Webster Third New International Dictionary and a 2014 United States mint proof set.

Runner-up Jacob Lacanienta, a fifth-grader at Summit Elementary School, also won a Merriam-Webster Third New International Dictionary.

Teresa White, director of the IU High School Journalism Institute, handed out the awards, telling Wilt she could use the dictionary to study for the national bee.

Wilt said she practiced orally spelling words from a practice packet, which featured her winning word. Her parents said she used an online program from Scripps to help prepare.

Cindy said this was Wilt’s fourth time competing in the regional bee.

“We knew she could do it,” Cindy said.

Follow reporter Emily Ernsberger on Twitter @emilyernsberger.