Poplar Bluff elementary students face off in 12th annual spelling bee

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. (KBSI) – An Oak Grove student faced off against a schoolmate in the final round of the 12th annual Spelling Bee for third graders.

Clara Wilkerson spelled the word b-i-o-l-o-g-y correctly. It was the 117th word in the competition that aired on KYEC 88.3/98.3 FM on Wednesday, Feb. 28, at Fox Radio Network.

Clara’s final opponent was Evan Yarbro. He tied her in the previous elimination round of the competition recently held at the individual elementary schools across the district.

Mason Brumitt of O’Neal, Ernie Kon of Lake Road and James Councilor of Eugene Field also competed in the spelling bee live on the radio.

“There’s only one champ today, but you’re all champions,” said Kathern Harris, chairperson of the CRC Children and Youth Succeeding in School Committee, prior to the contest. “You’re the top third grade students in Poplar Bluff!”

After completing the initial word list, students made it through the tie-breaker list. It featured advanced sixth grade words, according to organizer Alexus Joplin of the CRC.

Pronouncer Shannon Midyett, Poplar Bluff Municipal Library director, cycled back through the wordlist from the final day of the three-week qualifier over the course of about one hour.

Clara’s mother, Oak Grove teacher Carey Wilkerson, said her daughter studied the words all week during each round of the competition.

“I even skipped tumbling,” Clara said, noting that her friends will be “surrounding me” when she returns to school, where a surprise party awaited both finalists.

Before the CRC took a temporary hiatus from hosting the spelling bee following the public health crisis, Oak Grove also sent two students to the spell-off, winning the trophy in 2020.

Oak Grove also had dual finalists in 2019. One tied with Lake Road in the championship. Oak Grove also tied with O’Neal in 2019, before which O’Neal went on a multi-year winning streak.

Earlier last month, the Poplar Bluff Middle School held its annual spelling bee. Fifth grader Lacey Coffer placed first. Sixth grader Roman Jordan placed second. Roman Hunt of the fourth grade took third place.

The top two students will go to vie in the 15th annual Three Rivers College Southeast Missouri Regional Spelling Bee on Saturday, March 23, at the Tinnin Fine Arts Center in Poplar Bluff. The winner will advance to the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

The spelling be was sponsored by the Butler County Community Resource Council.