BANGOR, Maine — Neil St. John, an eighth-grader at Bangor Christian School, won the Penobscot County Spelling Bee on Saturday at Husson University’s Gracie Theater.
St. John, who is 13, correctly spelled the word “herpetology” to capture the county title, his second so far. St. John also won the county spelling event in 2015.
His win on Saturday means that for the second time, St. John will be one of two students representing Maine at the 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee in the Washington, D.C. area in May.
Husson University’s School of Education has been organizing the county spelling for six years as a way to help promote academic excellence among students in grades five through eight.
As the sponsor, Husson will provide St. John and a parent or guardian with an all-expense-paid trip to the Washington, D.C. area.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the nation’s largest and longest-running educational promotion administered on a nonprofit basis by The E.W. Scripps Company and local spelling bee sponsors around the world.
The goal of the event is to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabulary, learn concepts, and develop correct English usage that will help them all their lives.
The student who wins the first place prize at the 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee will receive $40,000. The second place finisher will receive $30,000.