Homeschooled teen wins regional bee

CHARLOTTESVILLE — Lights from TV cameras beamed at 12-year-old Luc Bailey. A couple hundred people silently watched as the Albemarle County spelling wiz shaped letters on his forearm using his pointer finger.

“Euphemism,” Luc repeated to judges. “E-U-P-H-A-M-I-S-M.”

“Agh,” Luc said, realizing he spelled the word wrong, landing him in second place in the 62nd Annual Regional Spelling Bee instead of having a shot at gold.

“I’m going to remember that word for the rest of my life now,” said the sixth-grade student from Jack Jouett Middle School, though he said he considered getting second place a success and planned to study even harder to earn a place in the contest next year.

Taking home the first-place victory was Andrew Traylor, a 14-year-old who is homeschooled by his mother with help from the Parent Educators of Augusta County Homes support group. Andrew won the contest by spelling “exacerbate.”

Andrew had to spell words that included cravat, adagio, basmati, pasteurize and narcissistic to make it to the final round of the spell-off.

Andrew out-spelled 31 students from Charlottesville, Staunton, Waynesboro, Albemarle, Augusta, Greene and Fluvanna. He will get to take a trip to Washington in May to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Andrew said that he has become a better speller by “studying and studying,” and when he’s not studying, reading as often as possible.

But the main reason he has become such a great speller is because “he just picks up on words,” said his mother, Pamela Traylor.

His father, Steve Traylor, added: “It’s a gift.”

Students were allowed to ask for words’ language of origin, a definition, and to have the words repeated and used in a sentence.

The top four contestants received awards. Indigo Adler, a sixth-grade student from Walker Upper Elementary School in Charlottesville, got third place. Shane Siebken, an eighth-grade student from Stuarts Draft Middle School in Augusta County, earned fourth place.

For his first-place victory, Andrew won a savings bond and gift certificates worth $250, a family ACAC water park pass, a copy of Webster’s Third New International Dictionary and a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Saturday’s spelling bee was sponsored by The Daily Progress, The News Virginian and NBC29. Better Living Inc. was a gold sponsor. The judges were Caroline Emerson of the United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area, Jane Norris of The Daily Progress and Allyson Rea of Piedmont Virginia Community College.

Andrew said that his advice for those who want to become better spellers is to read a lot and study “harder than you think you should.”

After a long day’s work, Andrew turned to family members as he walked out of the auditorium at Monticello High School and asked: “Who’s trying to go to the water park?”

Brandon Shulleeta is a staff wroter for the Daily Progress in Charlottesville.