They're some of the best spellers in Frederick County and they had their game faces on in Thursday's District Spelling Bee.

"I spelled a lot of words," said Silas Pearson.

"Marmoreal. M-a-r-m-o-r-e-a-l," said 8th grader Joaquin Traynham.

"P-r-o-t-u-b-e-r-a-n-t," said Natalie Youngblood. What does that mean? "I'm not sure.. I just heard it," Natalie said.

That goes for a lot of these super spellers. For many of them, it's not their first walk across the stage.

"Last year when I was in a spelling bee, when I was watching TV I made myself spell words I didn't know. I couldn't break that habit for like seven months," said Lexi Borden.

TV3's very own Cassie Behofist got in on the action announcing the words. And even 5th graders got a chance to strut their stuff in the middle school spelling bee.

Do they consider themselves to be good spellers? "No.. I mean, I guess. I had to win a spelling bee to get here," said Natalie. "I'm a good speller but there are 8th and 7th graders and stuff, so, I'll try," said Silas.

It might seem like just a spelling contest, but for these guys it's a huge accomplishment and it can be very nerve racking.

"Show how smart you are. Appreciate one talent that other people might not have," said Joaquin.

"It's actually really scary because there are like 40 other kids and they all want the same thing," said Lexi.

And the winners are,

1st Place: Alicia Gonzalez from Admiral Byrd Middle School (she spelled teriyaki to win)
2nd Place: Meghann Burgess from Admiral Byrd MS
3rd Place: Wasiq Kabir from Robert E. Aylor Middle School
4th Place: William VanMeter from Admiral Byrd MS
5th Place: Ashley Verburg from Frederick County Middle School
1st Alternate: Liam Craddock from Bass-Hoover Elementary School
2nd Alternate: Cody Shearer from Admiral Byrd MS

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