Spelling Bees Congratulations to the winners of the March 29 Central Oklahoma and Tulsa Scripps Spell it Bees, Kayla Albert of Weatherford and Hannah Cassidy of Perkins, who will represent the state during Bee Week in Washington, D.C. in May. The runners-up were Parker Strubhar of Piedmont and Claire Thompson of Tulsa, respectively. Congratulations also to the top students at the April 5 Central Oklahoma Pee Wee Spelling Bee, champion Matthew Anderson of Durant and runner-up Brynlee Handy of Sulphur. Click here to see a gallery of photos from the Scripps state-level spelling bees! Oklahoma students spell way to national bee By James S. Tyree Published: March 30, 2009 NORMAN -- Kayla Albert won the Central Oklahoma Scripps Spell It! competition and is heading to Washington because she listened to her mother. "Mom said take it slow, take your time, one letter at a time," said the Weatherford Middle School seventh-grader after winning half of the Oklahoma Spelling Bee on Sunday at the University of Oklahoma. Hannah Cassidy, a home-schooled eighth-grader from Perkins, won the Tulsa Scripps Spell It! portion to earn a trip to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington for a second straight year. Both winners also received an unabridged dictionary, portable DVD player, two-night stay with their families at a state park, a one-year online subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica and a $1,000 tuition waiver to attend OU. Amy Albert's advice served her daughter well. The word "chintz" nearly sent Kayla Albert packing in the second round. She looked and sounded puzzled when she repeated the word before gingerly spelling it one slow letter at a time. She took the same approach with words that seemed unfamiliar, and breathed a sigh of relief each time the judge said she was correct. Albert's run appeared done in the 11th round when she finally misspelled a word, but she got new life when the other two remaining contestants also missed their words. Thus, all three returned for a 12th round, but only Albert spelled her word -- prodition -- correctly. It took another three rounds for Piedmont sixth-grader Parker Strubhar to outlast Mandy Groeschel, an Arcadia eighth-grade home school student, for second place. Cassidy won the Tulsa-area bee when she spelled the French word "voila." She wasn't sure if she would get a second chance at the national bee when the Tulsa-area bee lost its sponsorship. The Oklahoman picked up the sponsorship, and the Tulsa bee was moved to OU alongside the Central Oklahoma bee. "I'm ecstatic; I'm really excited to go back," said the daughter of D.J. and Bobbi Jo Cassidy. "I studied and applied myself a lot, and I'm really grateful for everyone who helped me." The Oklahoma Spelling Bee, which included the Pee Wee Bee for kindergartners through fourth-graders, was scheduled Saturday but called off because of wintry weather in much of the state. The Central Oklahoma and Tulsa bees were moved to Sunday to stay within the national bee's timetable. Return to home page