Just wait until she actually enrolls in junior high.

Monday, April 03, 2000

Just wait until she actually enrolls in junior high. Ironton Middle School fourth-grader Rebecca Pack made quite an impression at the school’s recently held spelling bee. She became the first middle school student to earn one of the top two spots in the annual spelling contest.

She finished second.

"I thought I would go out on the first or second round," Rebecca said. "I just tried to do my best."

Six students representing Ironton Middle School and six from Ironton Junior High School competed at Collins Career Center on the Ohio University Southern Campus.

Rebecca missed on the word "bantam." Winner Jeff Flegel, an eighth-grader, correctly spelled the word, then spelled "cocoon" to win the competition.

"I didn’t do a lot of extra studying or preparing. It was a fun time," Rebecca said.

Junior high principal Jerry Watson was encouraged by what he saw.

"I’m looking forward to her coming up here (from the middle school). Especially if she can do that well without studying," he said.

Watson said the level of competition among all the competitors made for a long day for spelling bee judges.

"We used 124 words, it was the longest we’ve ever gone in a city bee with only 12 contestants," said junior high principal Jerry Watson. "I’m very proud of both Jeff and Rebecca. Even though she is not yet my student, anytime you excel this well, at her age, then she must be an exceptional young girl."