Caroline Jimenez Reyes Wins Dramatic District Spelling Bee

Caroline Jimenez Reyes of Resaca Middle School and Ishka Treviño of Villareal Elementary School went 17 rounds before Reyes emerged victorious in the Los Fresnos CISD Spelling Bee Saturday.
Thirty-five students – three from each of the 12 elementary and middle schools participated, less one student who failed to appear at the Bee, held at Resaca Middle School. After two rounds, 31 of the 35 students had missed a word.
Going into the third round, four students remained. Janeth Gonzalez of Liberty Memorial Middle School and Kathleen Canales of Rancho Verde Elementary were both eliminated in that third round, and the two shared third place honors.
That left only Treviño (Speller #14), a fifth grader at Villareal Elementary, and Reyes (Speller #32), an eighth grader at Resaca Middle School as the only two spellers remaining after three rounds.
The next 20 minutes were a quiet drama, as parents, coaches, fellow students, and administrators kept complete silence for the two spellers on the stage. Here is how the drama followed:
Round 4: Both students spelled their words correctly.
Round 5: Both students spelled their words correctly.
Round 6: Trevino, the #14 speller, misspelled, and Reyes spelled her word correctly.
Round 7: Reyes misspelled on a potential championship word for the first time.
Round 8: Treviño misspelled her word, and Reyes spelled hers correctly.
Round 9: Reyes misspelled on a potential championship word for the second time.
Round 10: Both students misspelled their words.
Round 11: Both students misspelled their words.
Round 12: Treviño misspelled her word, and Reyes spelled her word correctly.
Round 13: Reyes misspelled a potential championship word for the third time.
Round 14: Treviño spelled her word correctly, and Reyes misspelled her word.
Round 15: Treviño misspelled on a potential championship word for the first and only time.
Round 16: Treviño misspelled bolivar, and Reyes spelled impetuous correctly.
Round 17: Reyes correctly spelled nelam for the championship.

Reyes advances to participate in the Rio Grande Valley Regional Spelling Bee March 1 at Texas State Technical College in Harlingen. Treviño will be her alternate.
The Regional Spelling Bee champion advances to participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee May 25-30 in National Harbor, Md., located near Washington, D.C.
The victory marked the fourth straight year that a student from Resaca Middle School won the Bee. Michaela Jones won the 2013 Bee, but she is now in ninth grade.
Participants included:
Las Yescas Elementary: Fermin A. Garcia, Hannah A. Peña, Dominick Zavala.
Laureles Elementary: Penelope Sanchez, Nicole Smith, Jennifer Torres.
Lopez-Riggins Elementary: Jesus Arzola, Giovanna Estrada, Samantha Muñiz.
Los Fresnos Elementary: Ty Leigh, Blanca Ochoa, Jackeline Penate.
Olmito Elementary: Ruben Bravo, Andrea Iturbe, Jose Omar Mendiola.
Palmer-Laakso Elementary: Joshua Garcia, Marco Ibarra, Vivian Ledesma.
Rancho Verde Elementary: Kathleen Canales, Carmen Lainez, Joshua Jasso Vela.
Dora Romero Elementary: Amber Barrera, Jennifer Laznovsky, Jazmin Loperena.
Villareal Elementary: Jose Arreola, Tommy Rodriguez, Ishka Treviño.
Liberty Memorial Middle School: Janeth Gonzalez, Vivyann Guerrero, Lesly Patino.
Los Cuates Middle School: Zoe Arriaga, Russell Estrada, Clarisse Tudon.
Resaca Middle School: Sandra Hernandez, Caroline Jimenez Reyes, Sandra Salazar.
All students received participation certificates.

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