SPRINGFIELD — Seventeen students from elementary and middle schools throughout the Effingham County School District competed Thursday in the annual spelling bee at Effingham College and Career Academy. 
Elementary students competing included:
Savannah Miller (Blandford Elementary School), Wren Pratt (Ebenezer Elementary School), Carson Gay (Guyton Elementary School), Lexie Cowart (Marlow Elementary School), Peyton Bazemore (Rincon Elementary School), Makayla Davis (Sand Hill Elementary School), Sydney McGuire (South Effingham Elementary School), Derrick Lacey (Springfield Elementary School). 
Participants from middle schools included Zair Magallanes, Natalie Gilkey and Reese Powell from Ebenezer Middle School, Nathaniel Hayes, Dalton Meng and Micailah Wilkins from Effingham County Middle School and Reagan Cantrell, Delaney Denton and Ben Edwards from South Effingham Middle School.
After numerous rounds and eliminations, including a vocabulary round, the contest was narrowed to two competitors: Gilkey and Pratt.
As the rules provide, after a missed word, the finalist must correctly spell the next two words. Pratt was able to successfully spell “prescription” and finally “chinchilla” for the victory.
Pratt will represent the Effingham County School System at the District Spelling Bee to be held on Feb. 24 at Jane Macon Middle School in Brunswick.
Gilkey will serve as the Effingham County School System’s alternate representative.
Terri Johnson was the coordinator for the event and Robert Grant, an Effingham County Board of Education member, was the official “caller.”
Judging was provided by Wendy Porter and Dr. Melodie Fulcher from the Curriculum Department at the Effingham County Board of Education, as well as Dr. Barbara Prosser, CEO of Effingham College and Career Academy.