Photo by: Jim Tatum/Journal Scene

The nine finalists of the District 2 spelling bee will go to the Charleston Spellbound event in March, a regional spelling bee. The finalists include first place winner Cassidy Etue of River Oaks Middle School, second place winner Jackson Mutispaugh of Rollings Middle School of the Arts, Jayce Rutelonis of Beech Hill Elementary, De’Andre Venning of River Oaks Middle School, Michael Toohey of Dorchester Middle School, Courtney Thompson of Knightsville Elementary School, Joshua Meyers of Eagle Nest Elementary School, Andy Messersmith of Windsor Hill Arts Infused Elementary School, and Alexis Davis of Rollings Middle School of the Arts.

Photo by: Jim Tatum/Journal Scene

Cassidy Etue, winner of the 2011-2012 District 2 Spelling Bee accepts medal, trophy, and hearty congratulations from judges and school board members Gail Hughes and Charlie Stoudenmire.

Photo by: Jim Tatum/Journal Scene

Spelling Bee winner Cassidy Etue and Second Place Jayce Rutelonis.

A River Oaks Middle School student has won the 2011-2012 Dorchester School District 2’s district wide spelling bee.

Twelve year old Cassidy Etue, a sixth grader at River Oaks Middle, edged out Beech Hill Elementary's Jayce Rutelonis in a final seesaw round that saw the contestants misspell three words before she was finally able to get the word Jayce missed, “ramen,” then nail down the final word for the win.

As it turned out, that final word held a little irony for Cassidy, she said.

“I studied for something like six hours last night and my dad was helping me spell all kinds of German words. I never thought I’d win with the word, ‘flemish.’”

Cassidy thanked her parents for their support – especially her father, who helped her study the night before the district bee.

The Spelling Bee is an annual contest that pits the best spellers from all the elementary and middle schools throughout District 2. This year some 53 students hit the stage at Knightsville Elementary School for the district final.

There was at least one moment of confusion when the judges mistakenly ruled that a contestant, Rollings Middle School of the Arts' Jackson Mutispaugh had incorrectly spelled the word; they reviewed and reversed that decision a few moments later. Jackson would battle his way to the top three but finally went down in the second to last round.

Nine spellers, the top nine finalists in fact, will go on to compete against some of the best spellers in the Tri County area in the Lowcountry Spellbound spelling bee event to be held in March in Lightsey Auditorium at Charleston Southern University. They are

Cassidy Etue of River Oaks Middle School, Jayce Rutelonis of Beech Hill Elementary, Jackson Mutispaugh of Rollings Middle School of the Arts, De’Andre Venning of River Oaks Middle School, Michael Toohey of Dorchester Middle School, Courtney Thompson of Knightsville Elementary School, Joshua Meyers of Eagle Nest Elementary School, Andy Messersmith of Windsor Hill Arts Infused Elementary School, and Alexis Davis of Rollings Middle School of the Arts.

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