Staff writer
Carissa Shields of Lincolnville won the Marion County Spelling Bee on Feb. 8 in Marion. She is an eighth grader at Centre Junior High School. Twenty participants from third to eighth grades competed. Juliana Schrag, fifth grader, and Lanna Wagner, seventh grader, both from Goessel, finished second and third, respectively.
After three rounds, five contestants remained. Of the five, Shields was the only one to spell the word “phylum” correctly. She spelled “cellophane” in the final round to claim the championship.
Shields will compete in the final local spelling bee on March 17 at Barton County Community College. She is the daughter of Kim Shannon Shields and the late Carroll Shields.
Judges for the county spelling bee were Kris Burkholder, Sheila Anderson, and Lori Kirkpatrick. Doug Vogel was the speaker.