An eighth grader and a high school sophomore took top honors Nov. 11 at the seventh Annual Spelling Bee at the Rye Free Reading Room.
The competition featured middle school and high school levels. The middle school contest lasted eight rounds, until eighth grader Ben Martin took the title by correctly spelling “strong.” In the high school division, after 12 rounds, 10th grader Peter Wilmot won by spelling “puzzling.”
Martin was awarded a $500 scholarship sponsored by the Riccio and Mecca families. Wilmot won a $2,500 scholarship provided by Carpet Trends.
Martin and Wilmot will have their names engraved on the permanent Spelling Bee trophy displayed in the library’s main reading room. Both winners will receive their individual trophies and scholarship awards at the library’s annual meeting in February 2025.
Next year, the library will be adding a section for fourth and fifth graders to vie for the elementary school title.