11-year-old General Brown student wins Scripps Regional Spelling Bee for third straight year

Mar. 7—BROWNVILLE — A threepeat was in the cards for 11-year-old Micah R. Sterling at the annual Scripps Regional Spelling Bee Thursday night.

Micah, a sixth grader at General Brown Central School who won his third-straight regional bee by correctly spelling "jalapeno," said the most challenging part of the night was "the nerves." The most enjoyable part was seeing the other kids participate.

As a result of the win, Micah will be heading to Washington, D.C. to compete in the national competition in late May or early June.

He is most looking forward to the next challenges there and activities in the nation's capital.

Crystal L. Sterling, Micah's mother, said she could tell Micah was nervous on the stage.

"I think he felt a lot of pressure, it being the third time," she said. "He's worked hard and he worked through his nerves so we're very proud of him."

Sean R. Sterling, Micah's father, described the road to the bee as "a long process."

"We just trust that all the work that he puts in is going to take him as far as he can go," he said.

Micah said he will study the list of more than 4,000 words by using flashcards and vocabulary exercises.

"We never really stopped after last year," his father said.

For good luck, Micah was wearing a lucky bracelet made by his sister.

This year's contestants, from schools in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties, may have been the stiffest competition. Pronouncer Lorraine Caramanna said it was "one of the best bees we've ever had."

Micah is also busy in other activities, including sports this year.

"I think this year he's been the busiest doing other things too, so he's had to kind of juggle more," Micah's mother said.

Micah said he had "a little more confidence" competing in the General Brown High School auditorium in his own school district.

The bee is sponsored by the Watertown Daily Times and Jreck Subs in coordination with the Jefferson-Lewis Board of Cooperative Educational Services. It featured school districts from across the tri-county area — 19 contestants represented 15 school systems with four 8th graders, six 7th graders, seven 6th graders, one 5th grader and one 4th grader.

For finishing in first place, Micah received a one-year subscription to Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online dictionary, courtesy of Merriam-Webster Inc.; the Samuel Louis Sugarman Award, 2024 U.S. Mint Proof Set, courtesy of Jay Sugarman; Britannica Online premium one year subscription; digital access for the remainder of the school year to the Watertown Daily Times; a $50 Jreck Subs gift certificate; Epic! One year subscription, which has unlimited access to kids books, videos and audiobooks; and travel expenses to D.C. courtesy of the General Brown Central School District, Watertown Daily Times and Jreck Subs.

In second place, James McDonough, Thousand Islands, brought home digital access to the Watertown Daily Times for the rest of the school year and a $25 Jreck Subs gift certificate. In third place, Ashley Virkler, Beaver River, received digital access to the Watertown Daily Times for the remainder of the school year and a $10 Jreck Subs gift certificate.

Other students who participated were Adele Andrews Lowville; Lucas LorJuste, Watertown; Grey Denesha, Alexandria; Irene Mietzer, Augustinian Academy; Erdem Lukomyansky, Sackets Harbor; Jacob Hughes, Gouverneur; Emily Thompson, LaFargeville; Gaige Pittavino, General Brown; Jose Flores, Carthage; Jay Reed, Clifton-Fine; Julian Bruce, Indian River; Alexa Merkley, Gouverneur; Avery Rolando, South Jefferson; Ashlynn O'Brien, Belleville-Henderson; Abdulsamad Ashimi, Indian River; Madison Bennett, Watertown; and Andy Kazmerek, Carthage.

The national event will be broadcast on the Ion channel.