CULLMAN, Ala. – On Monday evening, Fairview Elementary School fourth grader Ava Pruett took top honors at the 93rd annual Cullman County Spelling Bee. She passed second-place finisher Jacob Kane, a sixth grader at Hanceville Middle School, with a correct spelling of “lucrative.”
Top five finishers also included East Elementary fourth grader Jackson Dossey, Fairview Middle eighth grader Jackson Babb and West Elementary fifth grader Jake Murphree.
Asked if the bee was fun or scary, Pruett told The Tribune, “Yes!”
This year’s county bee victory was a pleasant change from last year when, according to the champion, she left the Fairview school bee on her very first word. She admitted that, while her dad was helping her study a word list, she had him skip over the easiest words; then she went out on the three letter word “din.” Pruett was not going to let that happen again. And it did not.
Fairview Elementary Assistant Principal Caleb Elrod attended the bee and said of his star student, “Ava reads all the time, and she really is one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met. It’s like talking to a 30 year old every time you talk to her! She is an amazing little girl.”
On Saturday, March 21, Pruett will compete in the Alabama Spelling Bee at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. There, she could qualify to take part in the 2020 Scripps National Spelling Bee from May 24-29 in Ft. Washington, Maryland near the nation’s capital.
School champions who participated in the Cullman County Spelling Bee included:
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Charlie Ashley, West Point Middle
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Jackson Babb, Fairview Middle
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Stephen Briscoe, Hanceville Elementary
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Will Crawford, Good Hope Middle
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Henry Crocker, Cullman Christian
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Scarlette DeCicco, St. Bernard Prep.
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Jackson Dossey, East Elementary
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Konnor Dunkin, Parkside
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Kaiden Graves, Cold Springs Elementary
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Tylar Hanna, Cullman Middle
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Mikala James, Holly Pond Elementary
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Jacob Kane, Hanceville Middle
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Jackson Lamon, Vinemont Middle (Did not compete due to illness)
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Connor Lancaster, St. Paul’s
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Rylee Mathis, West Point Intermediate
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Cayden Moore, West Point Elementary
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Jake Murphree, West Elementary
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Jordan Pierce, Welti Elementary
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Ava Pruett, Fairview Elementary
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Owen Rust, Vinemont Elementary
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Jakob Salter, Harmony
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Aubrey Scott, Good Hope Elementary
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Dawson Simmons, Holly Pond Middle
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Sarah Woods, Sacred Heart
