The Islander Middle School Spelling Bee was held on Thursday, March 8.

It took 17 rounds and more than two hours of competition for a winner to emerge. Eighth-grader Riley Fang was flawless through the bee, spelling convalesce, exonerate and finally epithet to take the championship.  Runner-up Raunak Shah, also in eighth grade, also performed well in a hard-fought contest that included several late-bee rounds in which the two finalists each spelled his word correctly. Seventh-grader Heather Robinson took third place. Riley goes on to compete in the Regional Bee at Seattle’s Town Hall on March 25.

The winner of that event will continue on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

Damien Snyder, a fifth-grade student, won the West Mercer Elementary School Spelling Bee, which took place on Monday, Feb. 27. He won during the seventh round. Owen Weyland, a third-grade student at West Mercer, was the alternate.