Correspondent photo / Sean Barron The top three finishers in Saturday’s 92nd annual 21-WFMJ Regional Spelling Bee at Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown were, from left, Brieanna Call, a West Branch Middle School seventh-grader, second place; Daniela Lucia Pappalardo, Canfield Village Middle School seventh-grader, first place; and Cassandra Mo, a sixth-grader at Maplewood Elementary School, third place.

YOUNGSTOWN — After being the top finisher in a longtime, well-established regional competition, Daniela Lucia Pappalardo might have felt compelled to celebrate by singing a tonada or two.

“I read a lot, so I have a wide ranging vocabulary,” Daniela, a Canfield Village Middle School seventh grader, said.

Tonada is a Spanish word that translates to “song” or “tune” and refers specifically to a folk piece of music with a meditative quality. In effect, the word translates also to a melody or a simple, traditional song.

In Daniela’s case, tonada translated to the acquisition of a first-place trophy, because it was the word she correctly spelled to be the first-place finisher in Saturday’s 92nd annual 21-WFMJ Regional Spelling Bee at Stambaugh Auditorium.

Daniela was among the 69 students in grades three to eight who represented public, private, charter and parochial schools in Mahoning and Trumbull counties who competed for the top spot.

Daniela, who also won her school’s spelling bee in fifth grade, said she was unfamiliar with her winning word’s usage, but that she knows a lot of other Spanish words. Helping the seventh grader in that effort was her mother, Rubi Pappalardo, who is from El Salvador, Daniela said.

“It was super exciting when the last word ‘tonada’ was said. She’s a musician and Latino, so it was the perfect word,” Daniela’s father, Daniel Pappalardo, said, adding that his daughter also plays the piano, oboe and electric bass.

For her first-place finish, Daniela, whose interests also include zoology, will represent the Mahoning Valley at the 100th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee during Memorial Day weekend in Washington, D.C. The winner of that event will receive $20,000.

SECOND, THIRD PLACES

Doraphobia refers to an intense, irrational fear of seeing or touching animal fur or skin. People with this condition often avoid dogs, cats and other furry animals, but for Brieanna Call, a West Branch Middle School seventh grade student, doraphobia meant something quite different and non-furry: a second-place trophy after she had taken her time to correctly spell it.

“He read a word to me and I spelled it out,” Brieanna said, referring to her father, Ryan Call, who also acted as her coach via reading words off a list and having her practice correctly spelling them.

Cassandra Mo had her mother study a variety of words with her — something that helped strengthen her vocabulary and culminated in the Maplewood Elementary School sixth grader correctly spelling “bodkin” and taking home a third-place trophy. In addition, Cassandra was her school’s runner-up in fifth grade, she added.

A bodkin is a thick, blunt and large-eyed needle used mainly to draw a cord or tape through a hem. It also is a small instrument used to pierce leather and cloth.

Another factor that may weigh in Daniela Pappalardo’s favor when she competes at the end of May in the national bee is her well-rounded education, as well as the fact that she is a wordsmith and voracious reader. Also, she is excellent at retaining what she reads and learns, her parents said.

“We’re so grateful and so proud of her,” Daniel Pappalardo added.

In addition, Kent State University at Trumbull will be offering $2,000, $1,000 and $500 scholarships to the first-, second- and third-place finishers, respectively.

After the event Saturday, Joey Constantine, 15, a Lakeview High School freshman who won the regional spelling bee in sixth, seventh and eighth grades, offered some practical advice for those who will be preparing for the national bee: take your time with each word, don’t be afraid to ask questions and, perhaps most importantly, have fun.

Since he has aged out of competing in the local competition, Joey served as a volunteer Saturday and assisted Nena Perkins, event coordinator, and others.

Jeff Tyus, professor and graduate program director in Youngstown State University’s Department of Communications, served as pronouncer.