{"id":15450,"date":"2025-03-03T11:19:02","date_gmt":"2025-03-03T16:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/?p=15450"},"modified":"2025-03-03T11:19:03","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T16:19:03","slug":"barrientos-claims-2025-eastern-shore-regional-spelling-bee-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/barrientos-claims-2025-eastern-shore-regional-spelling-bee-title\/","title":{"rendered":"Barrientos claims 2025 Eastern Shore Regional Spelling Bee title"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"
Megan Barrientos of Wicomico Middle School (center) poses with the Bee mascot, Diamond Nwaeze, Dr. Kate Brown, Dr. Urban Wiggins, President Heidi M. Anderson, and Dr. Amy Hagenrater-Gooding, following her win at the 2025 Eastern Shore Regional Spelling Bee on March 1. (Keaira Hilliard photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

It took five rounds and two hours to get to the final two spellers at Saturday\u2019s 2025 Eastern Shore Regional Spelling Bee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would take another 16 rounds and more than 30 minutes to determine a champion as Wicomico Middle School seventh grader Megan Barrientos<\/strong> and Bennett Middle School eighth grader Alexander Brown<\/strong> endured a gauntlet of exacting words March 1 to see who would represent the Lower Eastern Shore at this spring\u2019s Scripps National Spelling Bee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the spelling of the word \u201cbesieged,\u201d Barrientos was able to punch her ticket to the May preliminary final competition in Washington, D.C., prevailing against 47 other spellers from Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester counties at the University of Eastern Shore\u2019s (UMES) Ella Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m really shocked, but I\u2019m excited to tell my family that I won,\u201d said Barrientos, 13. \u201cI don\u2019t know if the reality has hit me that I\u2019ve won.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
From left: 2025 Eastern Shore Spelling Bee winner Megan Barrientos and runner-up Alexander Brown pose for a photo following the competition. (Keaira Hilliard photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The first two spelling rounds saw 30 competitors eliminated before the field was culled by another eight in round three. In the third round, spellers had to determine which of the two definitions given accurately defined a given word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The spelling resumed in round four as three more spellers exited before the field was narrowed from six to just Barrientos and Brown following round five.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From rounds six to 18, both spellers were flawless as they accurately nailed terms such as \u201ccaducity,\u201d \u201crebarbative,\u201d \u201cleviathan,\u201d and \u201ccodswallop.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince this was my last bee, I wanted to go out with a bang and try my best to get where I did,\u201d said the 14-year-old Brown, also a 2023 bee co-runner-up.<\/a> \u201cBeing on this stage for three years in a row showed me that I could do anything I put my mind to as long as I keep trying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barrientos said while she is still in shock over the win, she knows what her next step is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a new experience,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ll be practicing a lot more as this is much bigger in magnitude.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s judges were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n