Colby Armes, a 12-year-old sixth grader from St. Joseph Catholic School in Farmington won the 14th Annual Three Rivers College Southeast Missouri Regional Spelling Bee on Saturday.
Armes spelled the word “curator” correctly in the 13th round of the competition, then clinched his victory with the championship word “acuity.”
This was Armes’ third year in the area competition, and he finished in second place last year. He and his family will travel to Washington, D.C. to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Memorial Day weekend.
Armes joins his brother, Brayden, in representing Three Rivers College at the national competition. Brayden won in 2016, 2018 and 2019.
Jenna Ramsey, a 14-year-old eighth grader from John Evans Middle School in Potosi, finished in second place. This was her first year competing in the regional bee finals.
The third-place finisher was Owen Allbritton, a 9-year-old fourth grader from Poplar Bluff Middle School, also appearing in his first regional competition.
Thirty-three students from 22 schools in five Southeast Missouri counties competed in this year’s bee. Students qualified by placing in the top two in their local school bee.
Three Rivers College is an official sponsor for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Each year’s winner receives an expense-paid trip to the Capitol for the nationwide competition, where they will match their spelling skills against more than 200 spellers from every state and several foreign nations.
The regional bee is supported by the following area sponsors: Southern Bank; Gamblin Lumber; Kennedy, Kennedy, Robbins & Yarbro, LC; Poplar Bluff Rotary Club; East Side Discount Pharmacy; Blaich Family Dentristry; Insta Print; and Armco Rentals of Fredericktown.