‘Sarcoidosis’ sends 84th Vindy Bee champ to national

By AMANDA TONOLI

atonoli@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

84th Spelling Bee Champ

Video

West Branch eighth-grader Macey Stancato wins Vindicator 84th Regional Spelling Bee.

84th Spelling Bee

Gallery

The Vindicator 84th Regional Spelling Bee Saturday in YSU's Kilcawley Center.

West Branch Middle School eighth-grader Macey Stancato took home the first-place trophy for her first spelling bee appearance at The Vindicator 84th Regional Spelling Bee on Saturday.

The first two rounds whittled the competitors down from 45 to 12.

Those 12 lasted five rounds, giving them another chance until Macey correctly spelled “alma mater,” meaning “a school – such as a college or university – which one has attended and usually from which one has graduated,” according to the spelling guide. Macey then had to spell the championship word “sarcoidosis,” which is “a chronic disease of unknown cause characterized by the formation of nodules resembling true tuberculosis lesions on the lymph nodes, lungs, bones, skin and other organs.”

Macey, 14, daughter of Victoria Best of Beloit, said she was just glad everyone in the competition did so well.

West Branch seventh-grader Liana Gabrelcik attended the bee to support Macey, her best friend and someone she calls a sister.

“Macey has always been so passionate about school and is so determined about everything she does,” Liana said. “She deserves this.”

Sophia Sainato, an eighth-grader at Poland Middle School, earned second place, and Angela McKenna, an eighth-grader at Girard Junior and Senior High, won third.

Forty-eight spellers from Mahoning County and parts of Trumbull County entered Saturday’s bee. That includes participants from public, charter, private and home schools.

Three of the entrants were absent and didn’t participate.

Twenty-five students remained after the first round. Words missed included “laburnums,” “undulating,” “prodigious” and “gladiatorial.”

After the end of the second round – which took down 13 more spellers – the 12 remaining felt the heat.

For the third, fourth and fifth rounds, spellers misspelled all the words, bringing those eliminated back up to continue to spell until Macey took first place.

Sophia, 14, daughter of Amy and Robert Sainato of Poland, won second-place in the second round as the only speller to correctly spell her word, “akela,” meaning “a leader of a Cub Scout pack,” according to the spelling guide.

After Sophia’s win, the fight for third place lasted seven more rounds.

Fourth-time bee returnee Angela went head to head with Mackenzie Sambroak, a fourth-grader at McDonald’s Roosevelt Elementary School, ending with Angela correctly spelling “roux,” which means “a mixture of flour and fat cooked sometimes until the flour browns and used to thicken soups and sauces.”

Angela, 14, daughter of Robert McKenna and Roberta Cordova, said she was happy to finally place after attending for four years.

“It’s pretty awesome,” she said.

As the winner, Macey moves on to the 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

The trip, including hotel and travel accommodations, tours, meals and incidental expenses for Macey and an adult escort are paid by The Vindicator.

Besides the trophy, Macey received a gift card from the Rotary Club of Youngstown; a gift card from the Downtown Kiwanis Club; a one-year subscription to Britannica Online Premium, courtesy of Scripps; the Samuel Louis Sugarman Award; Webster’s Third New International Dictionary; and flowers from Burkland Flowers of Youngstown.

Runner-up status earned Sophia a Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary; a T-shirt and school champion certificate from The Vindicator; a second-place trophy; and a gift card from the Downtown Kiwanis.

McKenna’s third-place prizes include a trophy; dictionary; T-shirt; and certificate.

Bee judges were the Rev. Lewis Macklin of Holy Trinity Missionary Baptist Church; Mary Kay Earnhart, a retired teacher; and Carol Ryan, office manager at St. Christine Parish.

The Vindicator Regional Spelling Bee has been a community tradition since 1934.