Hatcher crowned county spelling champ

VW independent/submitted information

Lindsey Hatcher, daughter of John and Heather Hatcher and an eighth grader at Lincolnview Junior High School, won the 2021 Van Wert County Spelling Bee held at Lincolnview Local Schools on Sunday. 

The second-place finisher was Isabelle Murphy, daughter of Sarina Raber and a fifth grader at Van Wert Elementary School, while the third-place finisher was Harrison Sloan, son of Robert and Dawn Sloan, and a sixth grader at Van Wert Middle School. 

Other competitors included Lucas Sawmiller, a fifth grader at Crestview Elementary; Braelyn Marsee, a sixth grader at Crestview Middle School; Dakota Thornell, a seventh grader at Crestview Middle School; Sam Boroff, an eighth grader at Crestview Middle School; Zavier Kemler, a fifth grader at Lincolnview Elementary; Josie Miller, a sixth grader at Lincolnview Elementary; Gabby Thomas, a seventh grader at Lincolnview Middle School; Jazzlyn Florence, a sixth grader at St. Mary of the Assumption School; and Peyton Hoffman, a seventh grader at Van Wert Middle School.

Van Wert Federal Savings Bank sponsored the awards to the top three finishers of the county spelling bee. 

Hatcher will move on to the online regional qualifier via the Scripps online testing platform. The top finishers of the online regional qualifier will advance to the Northeast Indiana Regional Spelling Bee on March 6, which will be administered virtually through a teleconferencing platform, and the regional champion will represent the Northeast Indiana Regional Spelling Bee program in the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee this summer. 

The national competition is normally held in Washington, D.C.