Students compete in Hempfield spelling showdown

In the end, it all came down to “strategy.”

That’s s-t-r-a-t-e-g-y, which 9-year-old Noah Mutnasky spelled Thursday to win the 13th annual Rotary Club of Greensburg Spelling Bee at Stanwood Elementary School in Hempfield.

Third-graders from Hempfield Area School District, Greensburg Salem School District and Aquinas Academy dressed their best and took the stage for the bee.

They deftly spelled words like “acquaintance” and “orchestra,” but stumbled over “lieutenant” and “surgeon.”

As the words got harder and the field narrowed from about 30 students to the final 6, the competition got tense.

Multiple times in the final rounds there was only one student left in the competition.

The last remaining contestant must spell one final word to win. Several times the last student failed to do so, so the remaining finalists were brought back for another round.

Noah finally sealed the deal.

“I was getting really nervous,” he said. “I didn’t know who was going to win.”

He practiced for the competition with a spelling bee app.

The rotary toured all the third-grade classrooms in participating schools late last year, giving a dictionary to every student.

Each classroom had its own spelling bee. The winner from each competed Thursday.

“It was a little intense, with the rounds going back and forth,” said spelling bee Director Shelly Gaffney. “You always feel bad for the ones who worked so hard, who have tears in their eyes.”

Noah won an iPad Mini, a plaque, and a trophy for his home school, Metzgar Elementary in Greensburg Salem School District.

Gaffney said the spelling bee is a valuable experience for children developing a love of language.

“This is something they’ll take with them for the rest of their lives,” she said. “I had one little boy tell me he still has his dictionary from the winter, and has been studying with it,” she said.