Marshall Smith, fifth grade, wins Cascade View Elementary Spelling Bee

Cascade View Elementary students from first to fifth grade got the chance to show off their spelling skills on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at the school’s annual spelling bee event.

The Cascade View spelling bee is the first step for local students into the Scripps National Spelling Bee; winners at a local level get to compete at a regional event and the winners there move on to the national stage.

Fifth grader Marshall Smith, winner of the 2016 spelling bee event, enjoyed a repeat victory as the school’s champion this year. With his win, he has qualified to compete at the regional event on March 19 at Seattle Town Hall.

The spelling bee went though 19 rounds and 240 words before Smith claimed the competition.

Fourth grade students Santoshi Kakani and Saachit Durga faced off in a one on one spell-off to earn the second place spot as alternate champion. Kakani finished second overall to win the alternate champion titles and Saachit placed third. As the alternate champion, Kakani will travel with Smith to the Regional competition in Seattle.

Top three finishers for each grade level were also recognized. Placing in the top three for the first grade were Bella Feng, Annie Burte and Brian Law; second graders Leif and Sebastien Peterson and Rahul Mathew took the top spots. In third grade, winners were Rhitik Banthia, Chase Clark and Maya Shekhar; in fourth grade, they were Santoshi Kakani, Saachit Durga and Reva Dhiman; and in fifth grade they were Marshall Smith, Liz Mitchell and Scarlett Mitrovic.