On Saturday March 29, Spellers from all corners of the state gathered at Western Wyoming Community College (Western) in Rock Springs to determine which of the many local spelling bee winners would represent Wyoming at the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee (Nationals). Nationals will be held at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in the Washington, D.C. area. The preliminary round will begin on May 27, with the finals held on May 29. Begun in 1925, Scripps National Spelling Bee is the oldest educational competition.
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First place winner, for the second year in a row, at the Wyoming State Bee was Eli Jernigan, an eighth-grade student from Kemmerer Junior/Senior High School in Lincoln County. Jernigan will represent Wyoming at Nationals. He received a $4,000 cash award from the Sweetwater Board of Cooperative Educational Services (SBOCES) to assist with expenses involved in attending the Nationals.
The second-place winner was Gwendolyn Cluny, an eighth-grade student from Davis Middle School in Uinta County, who received a $200 cash award from SBOCES. Third place was captured by a sixth-grade student from Pioneer Park Elementary School in Laramie County, Monica Knepper, who received a $100 SBOCES cash award.
The pronouncer for the event was Dave Lerner from Cheyenne, who has been the pronouncer for the State Spelling Bee since 2009. A retired TV news anchor and reporter, he has also been the pronouncer and served on the Board of Directors for the AARP National Spelling Bee. The Hon. John Prokos of Rock Springs served as the Head Judge for the State’s Spelling Bee. Judge Prokos has been a judge of the Circuit Court for the Third Judicial District since his 2013 appointment by Gov. Matt Mead.
Other judges at the Bee included former congressional staffer Bonnie Cannon and Green River Mayor Pete Rust, as well as the official record keeper Carol Jelaco, who is a lifelong educator and the current Chairperson of the Sweetwater BOCES Board of Directors.
This year’s Wyoming State Spelling Bee was once again sponsored and produced by SBOCES, under the direction of Executive Director, Dr. Bernadine Craft. SBOCES was grateful for the assistance of the employees of Western and donation from Western Wyoming Beverages. Dr. Craft stated, “SBOCES has been honored to have had the opportunity to sponsor the Wyoming State Spelling Bee for so many years. We could never have done it without the invaluable assistance of so many students and staff at Western, members of the Retired Teachers Association, and the Sweetwater County community. It has been a pleasure to continue providing this exciting learning opportunity for so many of our outstanding young people from every corner of the state
For more information about the Wyoming State Spelling Bee, please contact Dr. Bernadine Craft at 307-382-1603. To keep up to date with events on Western’s campus, visit their calendar at westernwyoming.edu/calendar.
