Salem News / Jimmy Joe Savage Top finishers at the 2025 Columbiana County Spelling Bee Saturday, from left, Beaver Local seventh grader Maureen Bone, champion; East Liverpool fifth-grader Joseph Duke, first runner-up; and United Local eighth-grader Lucy Raymond, second runner-up.

SALEM — The Columbiana County Spelling Bee championship plaque returned to Beaver Local Saturday after seventh-grader Maureen Bone correctly spelled “octonocular” to become this year’s county champion.

“Definitely unexpected,” the excited 12-year-old Beaver Local student said.

As the Columbiana County Spelling Bee champion, she’ll travel to Washington, D.C., to represent the county as a speller in the historic 100th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee from May 27 to 29.

Joining her will be Daniela Lucia Pappalardo, a Canfield Village Middle School seventh-grader, who won the 21-WFMJ Regional Spelling Bee on Saturday. The regional bee covers Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

The daughter of Steven Bone and Heather Moser, this was Maureen’s second year in the county bee.

“I used the Scripps spelling bee app on my phone to practice,” she said, noting that she’ll use the app again to prepare for the national competition, along with the provided list of words.

“I expected to do well, but not this well,” she said.

In the fifth round, she correctly spelled “uvula” then had to correctly spell “octonocular” in the sixth round to win. Some of her previous words included “dicey,” “prism,” “bromide,” and “griefful.”

“I’m so excited for her. I’m so proud of her,” Maureen’s mother, Heather, said, adding that Maureen reads a lot and devours books.

Her dad, Steven, added, “very, very proud of her accomplishments both in school and out of school. Just a super kid.”

The family vacationed in Washington, D.C., before, but on this trip, Maureen said she wants to visit the National Archives and library.

East Liverpool fifth-grader Joseph Duke, 11, earned first runner-up during a spell-off with United Local eighth-grader Lucy Raymond, 14, who earned second runner-up. They both missed their words in the fifth round, with Lucy missing on “birria” and Joseph missing on “dalmatian,” requiring them to spell again to determine their final standings.

Joseph correctly spelled “neonatology” while Lucy missed on “ludicrous.” In previous rounds, some of Joseph’s correctly spelled words included “ufology,” “disneyfication,” “palatial” and “remnants.” Some of Lucy’s previous correctly spelled words included “chinook,” “flexitarian,” “cymbals” and “whirlybird.”

Joseph is the son of Jason and Elizabeth Duke and said he wants to come back to the county bee. He said, “I just studied real hard at home.”

Lucy is the daughter of Jason and Lorraine Raymond. She was previously in the county bee in the fifth grade. She said she studied a little bit this time around, “but I didn’t think I would get this far.”

This was the 66th annual Columbiana County Spelling Bee, featuring 41 spellers who earned their spot after placing at their school district spelling bees. The bee is co-sponsored by Columbiana County’s newspapers, the (Lisbon) Morning Journal, Salem News and The (East Liverpool) Review, along with the Columbiana County Educational Service Center, which coordinates the event.

“We appreciate all of the hard work that all the district spelling bee coordinators put into this. It’s always exciting to see the newspapers and the district winners making it to the next round,” ESC Superintendent Marie Williams said.

She said, “We appreciate the Columbiana County newspapers’ support in sponsoring this and having a part in it.”

Williams mentioned all the different activities the ESC has been involved with recently, such as the robotics competition, academic challenge and the spelling bee that bring out the students’ passion and interest.

Her advice for spellers was to take their time, ask for the word to be used in a sentence and ask for a definition. During her welcome, she said the first national spelling bee 100 years ago had just nine spellers. Last year, there were 245.

Spellers also could ask for the word to be pronounced again, ask if there’s an alternate pronunciation and request the language of origin. Spelling bee coordinator and pronouncer Lisa Mistovich conducted a practice round first so each speller could introduce themselves and spell a word. If a word was spelled wrong during the bee, a bell sounded.

Judges included Columbiana Public Library Director Kathy Bennett, Leetonia Public Library Youth Services Director Destiny French and Salem Public Library Director Brad Stephens.

Maureen won the champion plaque, along with a one-year subscription to Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online donated by Merriam-Webster, the Samuel Louis Sugarman Award donated by Jay Sugarman, a one-year subscription to Britannica Online Premium donated by Encyclopedia Britannica and an invitation to compete in the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., including a six-night stay at the Gaylord National Resort for the champion and one parent, room and tax paid by the newspapers.

Joseph and Lucy each won a plaque.

The traveling plaque returns to Beaver Local after being with Salem last year. Beaver Local Middle School Principal Jake Walgate said Beaver Local bee coordinator Matt Newman does a great job with the bee. He also said it’s awesome to see the school represented in such a positive way.

To learn more about the national spelling bee, visit spellingbee.com.