Kansas competitor brings sunflower spelling skills to Nation's Capital
SENECA (KSNT) - A competitor from Northeast Kansas had the chance to spell his way to the top this week.
The National Spelling Bee is underway over in Washington D.C. this week. 27 News met up with educators and spelling bee workers at Nemaha Central Middle School, who've been cheering on one of their own Tyler Nolte.
Nolte's favorite word to spell? “Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis," Definition: an invented long word said to mean a lung disease caused by inhaling very fine ash and sand dust.
A recent graduate from Nemaha Central Middle School, he will definitely be missed around the halls.
“Tyler is one of the students every teacher dreams of having," Literature Teacher Hadden Hiltgen said. "He’s been very advanced and gifted in literature and ELA for all the years that I’ve known him.”
Even from an early age, the Kansas competitor took spelling seriously.
“He’s just gotten really difficult spelling words for years," Gifted Facilitator Karla Kramer said. "Since probably second grade he’s been doing well above his grade level peers.”
Earlier this year, Nolte won the county and state spelling bee, making him eligible to compete on the national stage this week in our nation's capital.
“It is wonderful to have a local kid do so well," Nemaha Spelling Bee worker Barb Vitt said. "Coming from this small a town and beating all the other Kansas spellers, I think that’s pretty special.”
That support isn't going unnoticed by the statewide champ.
“It just means so much," Nolte said, "because there’s so many people that are down home just rooting for me, just hoping that I do good. I think I’ve done amazing, because I made it all the way to nationals.”
Even though Nolte wrapped up his time competing already, he says the experience has been everything he hoped it would be.