JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sam Evans thought his final shot at competing in the Scripps National Spelling Bee might have ended before it began.
“I just moved here from South Florida about five months ago. It’s a great place. I really like it,” the 8th grader said just minutes after winning the 2022 First Coast Spelling Bee.
Evans and his parents were heartbroken to learn their new home of St. Johns County had already conducted its spelling bee. That’s when the Evanses called News4JAX looking for help. The Local Station reached out to the other 13 local counties that had not yet crowned a county champion to see if they would allow the homeschooled student to take part in their bee.
Union County welcomed him with open arms. Evans won that county bee. His winning word was “Richter scale”. That led him to Friday’s First Coast Spelling Bee, hosted virtually by WJXT-Channel 4. The winner would qualify to represent Northeast Florida in the national finals.
Ad
“I’ve competed at regionals for a long time now. I just had fun this year,” Evans said.
The fun continued when he outlasted the 13 other local county champions to be crowned as the 2022 First Coast Spelling Bee champion, sending him to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. this May.
His winning word: inhabitants.
“I was just happy that I knew it,” Evans said.
Evans has been competing in spelling competitions for five years. As an 8th grader, this would be his last chance to qualify for the nationals, as the competition is for elementary and middle school students. “I’ve been wanting to go for a long, long time now. So, like, it’s just gonna be a great opportunity to just be there. Be around all those other spellers and we’ll see what happens,” he said.
2022 First Coast Spelling Bee Finalists
– Kaleb Hilliard
5th grade
Nassau Co.
– Alexander Murnahan
6th grade
Bradford Co.
– Addison Webb
8th grade
Suwannee Co.
– Cindy Kim
8th grade
Ad
Columbia Co.
– Samuel Evans
8th grade
Union Co.
– Spence Edelstein
7th
Flagler Co.
– Kaitlynn Wilson
6th grade
Putnam Co.
– Jeevan George
5th grade
Alachua Co.
– Rena Reddish
7th grade
Clay Co.
– Marvin Mattair
8th grade
Madison Co.
– Ernest Quesada
7th grade
Duval Co.
– Deeksha Hariharan
6th grade
St. Johns Co.
– Kaylyn Murphy
6th grade
Hamilton Co.
– Dallas Norman
7th grade
Baker Co.
Copyright 2022 by WJXT News4Jax – All rights reserved.
