County Spelling Bee Winner Heads to D.C.
Local Severn River Middle School student LeAn Nguyen makes it to the sixth round.
When Emily Durell first heard her championship word Saturday morning in Round 10 of the Anne Arundel County Spelling Bee she “totally freaked out.” The freaking out was for good reason. Her word? Execration. It’s a noun meaning the act of cursing or denouncing. It may sound easy now, especially reading it. But standing in front of a packed room of family members, teachers, administrators and 26 other contestants who had misspelled a word before her, “execration” was not exactly what Emily said she was expecting to hear. “I think it was on the list, but I’ve never used it in a sentence,” the 13-year-old from Crofton Middle School said shortly after correctly spelling the word. “It’s totally mind blowing. I never expected to be the winner.” …
