COVINGTON, Ga. - Ruben Azinord, a sixth-grade student at Veterans Memorial Middle School, is Newton County School System’s 2018 Spelling Bee Champion. West Newton Elementary School fourth-grader, Aniya Glover, was this year’s runner up.

Because Azinord has a prior commitment, Glover will represent NCSS at the District 5 Regional Spelling Bee on Saturday, Feb. 24, at Edwards Middle School in Conyers. 

Azinord battled Glover and Liberty Middle School’s Ashley Holland, who came in third, for nine rounds before winning the Bee by correctly spelling, “mitochondria” followed by “pecuniary.” 

“It’s nice to be the winner,” Azinord, who noted he practiced spelling words at home with family and at school with friends, said. “When I got the spelling list there were words I didn’t know. My dad told me I should photocopy the words in my mind and look at the words in my head and spell them out.” 

Glover also spent a lot of time practicing the spelling word list and said she, “was familiar with the words called and confident she knew how to spell them.” Her main battle was a case of nerves at the beginning of the competition. 

“I was nervous at first that I would get out right away,” Glover, who was so nervous she misspelled a word in the practice round before the competition officially began, said. “But I got it and here I am with a trophy!” 

“Spelling is an important skill to have and I congratulate both Ruben and Aniya on a job well done,” NCSS Superintendent Samantha Fuhrey said. “They represented their schools very well and should be very proud of their accomplishments. It’s unfortunate that Ruben is unable to participate in the regional spelling bee but I’m sure that Aniya will represent us well.”