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SPELLING CHAMP
Ellinwood sixth-grader wins 2022 Barton County Spelling Bee
BC Spelling Bee Winners
Ellinwood sixth-grader Kellan Behnke, right, and Hoisington fourth-grader Brinley Maier, left, advanced to the championship round of Saturday's spelling bee. Behnke won the title as the first Ellinwood champion since 2017. - photo by Michael Gilmore

The streak is broken.

Kellan Behnke, a sixth-grader at Ellinwood Grade School, was crowned champion of the 2022 Donald H. Humphreys Barton County Spelling Bee Saturday morning at the Great Bend High School Commons Area.

Behnke’s correct spelling of the word “interlude” secured the title in a short championship round that included runner-up Brinley Maier, a fourth-grader from Lincoln Elementary School in Hoisington. 

Behnke’s win broke a two-year streak of Great Bend Middle School champions and a four-year Great Bend hold on the title. Lane Klepper, representing St. Joseph Catholic School in Ellinwood, won the title in 2017.

Grasping his county trophy, Behnke breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s been a long time since Ellinwood won,” he said. “I didn’t think we’d ever get one in.”

The Great Bend Kiwanis Club has sponsored the Barton County Bee since 1981, even though the contest extends as far back as the 1930s. Kate Wary, club member and past president, served as emcee for the morning’s contest, noting that after five years, she will be handing over the duty to Jay Luerman for the next year’s bee.

The contest featured champions and runners-up from 10 schools in Barton County. The Sunflower State Spelling Bee is Saturday, March 26 at Newman University in Wichita.