Trion, Ga., speller headed to state bee

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Try to spell check the words "tachistoscope" or "nenuphar" on a computer and it'll say you've made a mistake, but 12-year-old Maci Bicknell knows better.

Bicknell, a seventh-grade Trion Middle School student, is headed to Atlanta on Friday for the Georgia Association of Educators' State Spelling Bee. If she beats out 19 other 10- to 14- year-olds, she'll be headed to Washington, D.C. for a shot at becoming the country's top speller.

Arkansas-Kentucky Live Blog

Since placing second in the region's spelling bee and earning a shot at the state's, Bicknell has studied for hours both at school and at home.

But the studying doesn't get her discouraged.

"I like it," she said, "except for the hard words."

For complete details, see tomorrow's Times Free Press.