ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Mitchell Robson, left, and his brother Will practice spelling at the library.
By BRIDGET TURCOTTE
LYNN — Although last year’s Daily Item Regional Spelling Bee champion Mitchell Robson, 14, has aged out of the competition, he’s helping his younger brother, Will Robson, 13, carry on the family legacy.
“I felt that it improved many skills that are important; communication skills, I learned a lot about different languages, a lot of new vocabulary that I wouldn’t have known otherwise. I would be studying every free minute if I could,” said Mitchell, who spent between two and five hours each day preparing for the bee. “But I’ve been putting my skills to good work. I decided that I really wanted to help my brother and, so far, he’s been working very hard. He’s gotten himself into the regional spelling bee.”
Mitchell took seventh place in his final of three consecutive trips to the Scripps bee last year. He was mentored by Marblehead speller Amber Born, the first Item contestant to make it to the final round. Born took four trips to the national competition and placed fourth in 2013. Now Mitchell’s taking what he’s learned to teach his brother the tricks of the trade.
“The biggest thing I tell my brother is while there is a memorization component to it, you have to think about how the language structure works — not just memorize the word,” he said.
Will, who has competed at his school for two years, said his brother was tough competition. But now he’s ready to take on regionals.
“I kind of always wanted my brother to win in the years before — I wanted him to do well all these years,” Will said. “But now I’m really excited.”
Will, who studies words from the dictionary and other resources, said the support of his family has gotten him to this stage of the game.
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Will is set to compete against 50 other champions from local schools in grades three through eight at the 32nd annual spelling bee March 10 at 6 p.m. at Lynn City Hall Auditorium.
The winner of The Item’s regional bee will move on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. in May, a trip that’s paid for by Joel and Mary Abramson and their Marblehead-based travel agency, Flagship Travel. The prize includes roundtrip airfare for two, lodging at the Gaylord Resort and Convention Center, food and $400 in spending money. Joel estimates that it’s a $4,000 value.
The winner will also receive a Merriam Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, a one year subscription to Britannica Online Premium, a $100 Barnes & Noble gift certificate, and the Samuel Louis Sugarman Award – a 2017 United States Mint Proof Set.
The spellers in second place will receive a $75 Barnes & Noble gift certificate, third place will receive a $50 Barnes & Noble gift certificate and the fourth place will receive a $25 Barnes & Noble gift certificate.
Competitors from Lynn include Dahrien Bernabel, a fifth grader from A. Drewicz Elementary School; Jonathan Baker, gr. 7, Breed Middle School; Soleil Chea, gr. 4, Brickett Elementary School; Davin Clement Jr., gr. 4, Capt. William Shoemaker Elementary School; Richard Deown, gr. 5, Cobbet Elementary School; Erinma Nivoke, gr. 5, E.J. Harrington Elementary School; Jack Spates, gr. 3, Edward Sisson Elementary School; Jake Fader, gr. 5, Ingalls Elementary School; Elizabeth Oluwasuyi, gr. 7, Kipp Academy; Maddison Canzano, gr. 5, Julia F. Callahan School; Nia Rodriguez, gr. 5, Lincoln-Thomson Elementary School; Matthew Howell, gr. 5, Lynn Woods Elementary School; Nicholas Granitsas, gr. 5, North Shore Christian School; Robert Desmond , gr. 6, Pickering Middle School; Jasmin Jimenez, gr. 5, Robert L. Ford Elementary School; Jaylen Guscott, gr. 5, Sewell-Anderson Elementary School; Julian Jayour, gr. 5, St. Pius V School; Emmah Faris-Howes, gr. 6, Thurgood Marshall Middle School; Damaris Bamaca, gr. 5, Washington Elementary School: and Paw Htoo, gr. 5, William P. Connery Elementary School.
Three school spelling champions hail from Swampscott. They are William Fox, gr. 4, Clarke Elementary School; Henry Buettler, gr. 4, Hadley Elementary School; and Anton Khripko, gr. 4, Stanley School.
From Marblehead, Nicholas Thibodeau, gr. 7, Marblehead Community Charter Public School; Sofia Piper, gr. 8, Marblehead Veterans Middle School; and Massimo Bottari, gr. 6, from the Village School.
Nine spellers are from Revere. They are Geovanny Acetty, gr. 3, Paul Revere Innovation School; Charleigh Noroselsky, gr. 4, Garfield Elementary School; Kendall Giordano, gr. 5, Beachmont Elementary School, Melih Yilmaz, gr. 5, Lincoln Elementary School; Omolade Adeniyi, gr. 3, Hill Elementary School; Zackaria Benlail, gr. 5, Whelan Elementary School; Christy Ly, gr. 6, Rumney Marsh Academy; Samuel Burns, gr. 6, Susan B. Anthony School, Revere; and Teo Hood, gr. 6, Garfield Middle School.
Maxwell Manadee, a fifth grader at the Johnson School in Nahant; Victor Phan, gr. 4, Douglas Waybright School in Saugus; Riley Freedman, gr. 6, Covenant Christian School in Peabody; and Sofia Valencia, gr. 7, Higgins Middle School in Peabody.
Twelve other spellers from North Shore communities are also taking part; Julian Osorio, gr. 8, Bellesini Academy in Lawrence; Emma Hatch, gr. 7, Holten-Richmond Middle School in Danvers; Rizza Anderson, gr. 8, Rockport Middle School; Caroline Clarke, gr. 7 in Sacred Hearts School, in Haverhill;
Will Robson, seventh grader at St. John’s Prep, Danvers; William Yue, gr. 7, The Pike School in Andover; Ashrita Gandhari, gr. 4, Franklin Elementary School in North Andover; Ethan Wlodyka, gr. 7, St. Michael School in North Andover; Braedon Smith, gr. 6, John G. Whittier School in Haverhill; Ilyana Lorenzana, gr. 7, Ralph B. O’Maley Middle School in Gloucester; Sara Johnston, gr. 5, St. Monica School in Methuen; and Anaprabha Dandapat, gr. 5, High Plain Elementary School in Andover.
Meghann Price, reading teacher at Thurgood Marshall Middle School, Item Sports Editor Steve Krause and Kathleen Shaughnessy, a teacher at Kipp Academy in Lynn, will serve as judges. Lynn English High School Social Studies Advanced Placement teacher William McGuinness will be the pronouncer.
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte