Mar. 7—BROWNVILLE — Inside General Brown Junior-Senior High School on Thursday night, 18 of the top spellers from tri-county school districts took the stage to flex their spelling abilities. The annual Scripps Regional Spelling Bee concluded with a fourth-consecutive win for seventh grader Micah R. Sterling.
The General Brown Central School student finished in first place after correctly spelling “gingivitis.”
“Most of (the words) I knew, but some of them caught my eye,” Micah said after the bee.
Micah started studying hard in January, his father Sean said.
Micah will be heading to Washington, D.C., to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May, the 100th year of the competition. Micah finished 22nd, out of 245 contestants from across the country, at last year’s national competition. He moved up considerably after finishing 74th in 2023 and 89th in 2022.
Micah said that his goal for this year is to finish better than 22nd.
“It’s a whole different ball game down there,” Micah’s dad, Sean Sterling, said. “It’s a real spectacle and this year’s the 100th year so it should be fun.”
Micah’s mom Crystal said she is proud of her son.
“He’s taken on more of his own studying this year,” she said. “We’ve kind of taken him by the hand all around through but this year he’s done a lot more on his own and he’s just showing more initiative and doing the work.”
Micah will receive a one-year subscription to the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online dictionary; the Samuel Louis Sugarman Award, 2025 United States Mint Proof Set courtesy of Jay Sugarman; a one-year subscription to Britannica Online Premium courtesy of Encyclopedia Britannica; digital access to the Watertown Daily Times for the rest of the school year; and a $50 gift card to Jreck Subs for finishing in first place.
In second place was Johann Enriquez, of Carthage Central School, who won a Watertown Daily Times digital subscription for the remainder of the school year, and a $25 Jreck Subs gift card.
Finishing in third place was Catherine Wilay, also from Carthage Central. She brings home digital access to the Watertown Daily Times and a $10 Jreck Subs gift card.
The other students competing Thursday night included Jonah E. Aucter, of Beaver River Central School; Liam P. Goldie, of Clifton-Fine Central School; Lucas Valley, of Belleville-Henderson Central School; Felix P. Castro, of General Brown Central School; and Alexis L. Mandap, of Indian River Central School.
Also competing were Sawyer N. Robirds, of Indian River Central School; Owen M. Pitrik of LaFargeville Central School; Adele D. Andrews of Lowville Academy and Central School; Claire Phillips of Sackets Harbor Central; Julia H. M. Janz, of South Jefferson Central School; River C. Rolando, of South Jefferson Central School; James H. McDonough, of Thousand Islands Central School; Rielley P. Schoen, of the Town of Webb Union Free School District; Lucas J. LorJuste, of Watertown City School District; and Sophia Goebert, of Watertown CIty School District.
The bee is sponsored by the Watertown Daily Times and Jreck Subs in coordination with the Jefferson-Lewis Board of Cooperative Educational Services.
The bee had 18 contestants from 14 school systems in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties. Students from fifth grade through eighth grade were among those competing.
For those looking to compete next year, they better bring their “A” game. Micah said he hopes to be back in the competition.
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