Chloe Holoman is headed to Washington, D.C., the end of May to represent central Minnesota at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Holoman, an 8th grader, from Royalton, outlasted 30 participants and spelled all of her words correctly through 10 rounds to earn the title of 2018 Lakes Bee Champion. The word to secure her win was "einkorn" - an ancient Mediterranean wheat used as fodder in prehistoric times but now rarely grown.
According to her, that was not her most challenging word of the day.
"'Persistent' was my toughest word," Holoman said. "I couldn't remember if it was 'ent' or 'ant'. I was glad to get that one over with."
The two-time champion of Royalton's spelling bee and two-time participant of the Lakes Bee is the first student from Royalton to win the regional spelling bee. Holoman says she's excited but knows she has a lot of studying ahead of her before she heads to the national bee.
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Her mom, Christina Holoman, says she helped her daughter prepare for Wednesday's competition by quizzing her on words and looking up pronunciations. She says Chloe is an avid reader and has had a knack for writing and spelling from a very young age.
"She could write her name by the time she was two or three years old," she said. "It was very exciting watching her up on stage today. I'm very proud of her."
Esme Pool, 8th grader from Aitkin was second runner-up while Nicholas Backstrom, 8th grader from Brainerd finished third.
2018 Lakes Bee Participants
Esme Pool, Grade 8, Aitkin
Alex Mateyka, Grade 6, Aitkin
Isaac Blashack, Grade 8, Bertha-Hewitt
Michael Kuehn, Grade 8, Brainerd
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Grace Aadland, Grade 8, Brainerd
Max Holmstrom, Grade 7, Brainerd
Emily Jaehnert, Grade 8, Brainerd
Nicholas Backstrom, Grade 8, Brainerd
Edith Chamberlain, Grade 7, Brainerd
Elizabeth Joque, Grade 7, Brainerd
Danika Dik, Grade 6, Crosslake Community Charter
Guy Clemons Virnig, Grade 5, Holy Trinity Catholic
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Will Jorgensen, Grade 7, Little Falls
Katrina Berg, Grade 6, Little Falls
Erik Anez, Grade 8, Little Falls
Megan Hillukka, Grade 5, Menahga
Erin Kempka, Grade 7, Pequot Lakes
Madeleine Hoag, Grade 5, Pequot Lakes
Lynn Skiba, Grade 8, Pierz
Caleb Kuske, Grade 8, Pierz
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Randall Yost, Grade 8, Pine River-Backus
Chloe Holoman, Grade 8, Royalton
Gavin Kiser, Grade 8, Sebeka
William Thew, Grade 8, Staples-Motley
Jadyn Vogel, Grade 8, Staples-Motley
Lucas Miller, Grade 7, Swanville
Alyssa Young, Grade 6, Upsala
Jamie Hahn, Grade 8, Verndale
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Madison Packer, Grade 8, Wadena-Deer Creek
