Congratulations to 7th grader Tegan Pugh and 8th grader Nuzaira Rabbani for competing at the CESA3 Regional Spelling Bee on Wednesday, January 24. Both Tegan and Nuzaira finished in a four-way tie to win the regional bee. They will compete at the Badger State Spelling Bee on Saturday, March 16.
The CESA3 Regional was a contest between 58 spellers from 25 school districts. This year started with challenging words -- more than half of the 58 spellers were out after the first two rounds. Nuzaira’s words included pixels, yore, ficus, and widower. Tegan spelled funnel, vicarious, crustaceans, and edict. Unexpectedly, it took only four rounds to determine the top four spellers to move on to the state bee. Former Platteville middle school teacher Judy Felsenthal was the pronouncer and her husband “Brad the Book Guy” Van Epps was a judge.
This is Nuzaira's second year in a row going to the state bee. She has finished in the top 3 of the local Platteville school bee all four years of her eligibility. This year is Tegan’s second trip to the regional and her first regional win to go to the state bee. As a fifth grader, Tegan placed ninth at the CESA3 Regional in 2022. Tegan has placed in the top three at our local bee for the past three years.
Tegan, Nuzaira, and Finn Siegl-Gesin have been our top two school spellers for the past three years! They've rotated spots each year. This is Platteville’s second year in a row that both of our regional students have earned trips to the Wisconsin State Bee. (Prior to three years ago, our regional bee fed into the Dubuque area bee sponsored by the Telegraph Herald.)