Whitefish home-schooler glides to county spelling bee championship

It was a swift win for home-schooled eighth-grader Hope Compton who became the Flathead County Spelling Bee champion Thursday.

Compton, of Whitefish, secured the win after 13 rounds against 25 competitors by spelling in succession “antidote,” and “servitude.”

While some students approached the microphone hesitantly — with one student bounding up to it — Compton walked across the stage with ease and a confident smile. She may have drawn that confidence from putting in the time to practice at least 1,055 words, according to Compton.

Her previous experience also helped. This was her third time competing at the county bee. In sixth grade she competed at state, spelling her way into the top 10. At state this year she hopes to do again — or even better — in her return to the Treasure State Spelling Bee.

Leading up to the win, Compton went head-to-head with Smith Valley eighth-grader Isaac Toavs for seven rounds. The tension increased in the eighth round as both Compton and Toavs misspelled the words given to them.

As the rounds whittled down to the top three, Toavs, who ultimately placed second, and Stillwater Christian School seventh-grader Taylor Gray, who placed third, and Compton regularly took the opportunity to ask for a definition, a sentence, language of origin and alternate pronunciation.

When asked if it was a tactic to get more time to think — “stalling,” as Gray put it with a laugh — the three said “yes.” Compton, who asked for a word’s language of origin or definition nearly every round, said the answers do help with spelling some words.

“In French it helps that it’s not spelled like it sounds,” Compton said about language of origin, for example.

Each of the top three spellers had his or her own strategy when standing up to the microphone and facing the spelling bee judges. Compton’s technique probably stood out the most. After repeating each word given, she held her index finger at eye level and proceeded to “write” each letter in a large sweeping motion followed by speaking each letter aloud. This got her through words such as “nosiest,” “stoic,” “giraffe,” “canasta,” and “prosthetic.”

“I also visualize it in my mind before I speak,” Compton said.

Toavs and Gray had more understated styles.

“I was writing down on my thigh,” Toavs said.

“Sometimes I move my foot or my hand to the syllable to try and figure it out, the rhythm of the word,” Gray said.

While it may take the apocalypse to shut down all spell-check and auto-correct capabilities, this trio thinks being a good speller is an important skill.

“If you know how to spell it can give you future career options,” said Toavs, who spends a lot of time writing.

Now, Compton is focused on getting back to practicing spelling lists — and building up endurance for state, which can last hours. The 2016 state spelling bee champion, Sarah Rye of Kalispell, outlasted 25 rounds and 60 competitors.

“The big thing with state is you have to have endurance because it goes on forever,” Compton said with a smile.

The state spelling bee will be held March 18 in Billings.

Reporter Hilary Matheson can be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.