Homeschooled student Storrie Kulynych-Irvin outlasted 30 other champion spellers today to win the 28th annual Anne Arundel County Spelling Bee and earn a trip to the national competition later this year.
Storrie, who tied for third in last year’s bee, correctly spelled the word “velveteen” in the 17th round to win the title. Isabel Messina of Wiley H. Bates Middle finished second and Julianna Bibbo of the School of the Incarnation was third.
The bee is a partnership of Anne Arundel County Public Schools and the 21st Century Education Foundation. This year’s event sponsor was Educational Systems Federal Credit Union. The champion sponsors for this year were the Josephine B. Scheffenacker Education Trust and Capital Gazette Communications.
Storrie will represent Anne Arundel County at the 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee in May. The Scripps National Spelling Bee is a not-for-profit educational promotion sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company in conjunction with businesses and community organizations around the world. Each sponsor organizes a spelling bee program in its community with the cooperation of area public private, charter, parochial, and homeschool officials.
All of today’s spellers received a medallion, certificate, and a prize bag that contains assorted gift items and a commemorative poster. The top three finishers each received trophies and additional prizes.
Storrie also won a Webster’s Third New International Dictionary and a Samuel Louis Sugarman Award certificate and savings bond donated by Jay Sugarman in honor of his father, a lifelong advocate of education.