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Sixth grader Henry Turner poses with his spelling bee trophy. Photo courtesy of Friends School of Baltimore
“Inerrancy.” An adjective with Latin origins, meaning incapable of being wrong. That’s the word sixth grader Henry Turner from the Friends School of Baltimore (MD) correctly spelled to win the title of 2019 Maryland Sports Spelling Bee Champion this past spring at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
The Maryland Sports Spelling Bee was started in 2017 so that students in 10 Maryland counties would have a regional spelling competition. More than 60 students representing 32 schools from across Maryland vied for the Champion School Traveling Trophy and the chance to compete at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
There were 13 rounds among the final three competitors, fewer than this year’s national bee, which yielded an unprecedented eight winners.
Henry tied for 51st place at the national bee (out of 562 spellers); he correctly spelled “transpontine” and “arbitrariness” in rounds two and three, but his score on the bee’s written test did not earn him a spot in the semifinals.
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