Serving the High Plains
A brother-and-sister duo were the top finishers last week in Tucumcari Elementary School's annual spelling bee.
Maleah Alderete, a fifth-grader, won by correctly spelling the word "morbidity" in the 15th round of the competition on Wednesday. She outlasted eight other competitors and will advance to the district spelling bee in January.
The runner-up was her brother, third-grader Massiah Alderete.
The previous week, fourth-grader Quinn Terry overcame 28 challengers to be the champion of the Logan Municipal Schools spelling bee for third- through eighth-graders. Runner-up was sixth-grader Sarah Williams. Terry will advance to the district bee.
In Logan's first-grade spelling bee, the top finishers were Rhowyn Sanders and Braden Roch, respectively. In second grade, the top two were Kanyon Cox and Emery Baggett.