Makes it to third round of 100th anniversary event

WASHINGTON, D.C. — It was long road getting there, but a Chesapeake student took part in the Scripps National Spelling Bee on the outskirts of the nation’s capital over the weekend.

Joseph Keffer, who just finished fifth grade, qualified for the event after winning the district bee for southeast Ohio in Athens in the spring.

Prior to that, he won the Lawrence County Spelling Bee in December, for which he qualified by winning his school’s bee.

Keffer was one of 243 regional champions to make it nationals.

The Scripps National Bee, which is in its 100th year, took place from May 25-30 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.

“It was awesome,” Joseph said of his experience. “And I made a lot of friends.”

At the national bee, Keffer made it through Round 1, correctly spelling “furan,” then succeeded in Round 2.

He then moved into Round 3, which was a written test to qualify for the event’s quarterfinals.

Keffer’s mother, Laura, said he came only two points from that threshold.

“He was close,” she said, noting that he and those eliminated at that point tied for 100th place overall. “He was 100th in the 100th. Our goal this year was to make it through rounds 1 and 2 and we accomplished that.”

The spelling bee is open to fourth through eighth graders and, with three years of eligibility ahead of him, Joseph has the opportunity to try again.

“Oh, yes,” he said, when asked if he plans to compete again in the next school year.

His mother summed up the family’s experience.

“Being here for the 100th spelling bee, being at the national spelling bee is something I never dreamed we’d do and it has been very special to be a part of it,” Laura Keffer said. “We are very proud of Joseph and what he has accomplished.”

Keffer is the third Lawrence County speller to make it to the national bee this century.

Last year, Meredith Dunlap, of Fairland Middle School, competed in the event as a seventh grader. (Dunlap came in second at this year’s county and regional bees).

In 2010, Felicity Jenkins, then a sixth grader at Symmes Valley, made the trip to nationals.

The bee capped off a strong year for Keffer. He was also part of the fifth grade Quiz Bowl team, which won the Lawrence County ESC’s talented and gifted tournament at the end of the school year, while, a year prior, he was on the winning team for the ESC’s Math Pong event.