2007 spelling champ makes 5th appearance

By Harold Gwin

YOUNGSTOWN — He’s baaack.

John Umble has proved to be a force to be reckoned with in recent years at The Vindicator Regional Spelling Bee, and he will be competing again Saturday in the 2009 event at Kilcawley Center on the Youngstown State University campus.

It will be his fifth appearance as the spelling champion from Willow Creek Learning Center.

John won the Vindicator event in 2007, earning a trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee that year. He finished second in the 2008 regional, and this will be the final year of eligibility for the eighth-grader.

It’s a rare feat to make it to the Vindicator bee five times. Few others have done it.

John went down in the first round in his first competition in 2004. He made it through three rounds in the 2005 contest.

“I was really nervous when I was in the third grade and did this for the first time,” he recalled, adding, “And I didn’t get very far.”

His advice to those in their first Vindicator bee? Just relax and have fun, he said.

John gave up a trip to the state competition of the MATHCOUNTS program in Columbus to participate in this year’s Vindicator event.

It’s a nationwide math competition for sixth- through eighth-grade pupils and is sponsored by the National Society of Professional Engineers. He finished fourth in the local MATHCOUNTS event in February, earning a trip to the state competition, but learned it is scheduled for the same day as the bee.

“I really would like to get to the [Scripps] nationals this year. It was a blast,” he said.

He feels comfortable returning this year, but said he’s not exactly confident.

“Words can be tricky,” he cautioned. Still, spelling bees are 95 percent skill and 5 percent luck, he said.

John said he hasn’t changed his preparation habits. He’s still working with his school principal on a regular basis and studying words on his own.

He’s been reading since the age of 2, and his parents, James and Kathryn Umble of Poland, have described him as an avid reader.

But words and academics aren’t his only interests. He enjoys working on his computer but also likes to spend time outdoors. Fishing, hiking, canoeing and camping are also high on his list of activities.

“Obviously, we’re very proud of him and his success,” said his father. “It’s satisfying for a young kid to be successful in a public forum.”

If there was a good sportsmanship award presented at the bee, John would have won it hands down the last two years.

After correctly spelling a word and taking his seat, he invariably gave each passing contestant a “thumbs up” and a smile as they had to walk by him after spelling their own words correctly.

When he lost last year, he said the winner, Hannah Stang Gerdes, deserved the victory because she was better able to interpret the pronunciation of the word he missed — alcazar — in the 25th round. She spelled it correctly. Hannah had finished second behind John in the 2007 contest.

gwin@vindy.com