Hard work spells victory for student

"Menhaden," a noun meaning a marine fish, is one of those words that sixth-grader Ben Gamble always has trouble spelling.

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Spellbound

The Lowcountry 2009 Spellbound! Bee took place Thursday night at Charleston Southern University. A Pinewood Preparatory School sixth-grader was the winner.

The Pinewood Preparatory School student practiced spelling it again and again in preparation for Thursday night's Lowcountry 2009 Spellbound! Bee, and his work paid off. He correctly spelled the final word of the competition and took home the championship trophy.

He will receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., with a parent, to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, compliments of The Post and Courier.

"I was really nervous," he said shortly after winning. "I guess I really wanted to go to nationals. I think it's going to be a lot of fun."

More than 32,000 students from across the Lowcountry competed in spelling bees this school year, and Thursday's bee included the 50 top spellers from Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton and Dorchester county school districts, as well as Lowcountry home and private schools and the South Carolina Independent School Association.

This is the first time the SCISA has had a student who will go to the national spelling bee competition, and the night's runner-up and Gamble's good friend, fifth-grader Gilby Schultz, also attends Pinewood Prep.

Gamble has been competing in and winning spelling bees since fourth grade, and he participated in the independent school association's state bee this year. One of the words that ended his run at the state trophy — dachshund — came up again Thursday, but Gamble, whose Dad is a veterinarian, spelled it right this time. His parents, Ginny and Donnie Gamble, laughed about that moment after the competition.

The bee moved quickly, and only nine spellers remained after about an hour.

Gamble was one of the night's most predictable spellers. After the pronouncer said the word, Gamble would ask for a definition — he said he does that so he slows down and doesn't make a mistake — perhaps request that it be used in a sentence and ultimately spell it correctly. He politely told the pronouncer, "Thank you," after most every word he spelled and walked back to his seat.

When only Schultz and Gamble remained, Schultz misspelled in the second round, and Gamble spelled the misspelled words and the final word — menhaden — correctly to win. He never misspelled a word.

Pinewood Preparatory English/language arts teacher, Elizabeth Kauffman, enveloped Gamble and Schultz in a hug after the competition. She's been preparing both students since October for the spelling bee, and she said both study nightly and practice after-school. "They're amazing," she gushed. "I am blown away. I'm so excited."

Gamble planned to indulge in one, maybe two, scoops of vanilla ice cream as his reward.