By Joe BarkerRecord Staff WriterAs the rounds progressed and the field got smaller in The Missourian’s regional spelling competition, The Bee, held this past Saturday, winner Samantha Doepker said she grew more nervous. But it didn’t show.Doepker, a fifth-grader at Clearview Elementary, outlasted everyone to claim her first spelling bee title.“I’m really excited,” Doepker said after the competition.“I was really nervous and it got worse as it went on ... When I went up to spell, I was really nervous I’d make a stupid mistake.”Spelling bee champions from 38 area schools competed in The Bee, held at East Central College.This is the fifth year for The Bee, sponsored by hth companies.Doepker beat Madelyn Aholt, an eighth-grader at St. Francis Borgia Grade School, in the final round for the win Saturday morning. She correctly spelled “depreciate” and “poll” back-to-back to clinch the win.Doepker said the final word gave her a little bit of trouble because “poll” sounds like “pole.” She asked for the definition for the first time all morning to clarify the difference.“I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t “pole” like fire pole,” she said. “I was really excited because (poll is) an easy word.”The only other word that gave Doepker trouble during the competition was “lozenge.” But she was able to figure it out and advance.Schools have been preparing since September to select their school champion to represent them at this spelling competition. Students in grades four through eight were eligible to advance to The Bee.Warren County students who competed in The Bee were Ariana Camarena, Daniel Boone Elementary; Olivia Morgan, Rebecca Boone Elementary; Laura Ennis, Warrior Ridge Elementary; Hope Chitwood, Holy Rosary; Zachary Hellebusch, St. Ignatius; and Natalie Maune, St. Vincent de Paul.Maune was one of the 10 finalists.

Pictured at top (left to right): Laura Ennis and Hope Chitwood. Pictured at bottom (left to right): Ariana Camarena and Olivia Morgan.