Ariana Diaz and Arthur Wilkie are congratulated by Lake County Superintendent of Schools Wally Holbrook for their wins in the Lake County Junior High Spelling Bee held at Upper Lake Middle School in Upper Lake, Calif., on Tuesday, March 15, 2011. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Office of Education.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Four spelling standouts will represent Lake County at state competitions this spring.

Ariana Diaz and Arthur Wilkie were the champs at the Lake County Junior High Spelling Bee held at Upper Lake Middle School on Tuesday, March 15, and David Thinnes and Tyler Parrott won the Lake County Elementary Spelling Bee at Terrace School on Tuesday, March 22, in Lakeport.

Each of the four students were awarded a medal of excellence and a $25 gift certificate to Catfish Books in Lakeport.

Ariana and Arthur were the top finalists in the junior high contest, which proved a true test of endurance for seventh and eighth grade spellers.

Ariana is an eighth grade student at Middletown Middle School. Arthur is an eighth grader from Lucerne Elementary School.

They will both compete in the California State Junior High Spelling Championship on Saturday, May 14, at Miller Creek Middle School in San Rafael.

Neither Ariana nor Arthur is a stranger to competition at the statewide level. They both represented Lake County at last year’s California State Spelling Bee.

In the heated competition between Lake County elementary students – grades fourth through sixth – David Thinnes, a sixth grader from Lucerne Elementary and Tyler Parrott, a fifth grader from Cobb Mountain Elementary School, emerged on top.

Lake County Superintendent of Schools Wally Holbrook congratulates Lake County Elementary Spelling Bee at Terrace School winners David Thinnes and Tyler Parrott. The event was held at Terrace School in Lakeport, Calif., on Tuesday, March 22, 2011. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Office of Education.

Both David and Tyler will compete in the 2011 California State Spelling Championship on April 16 at the San Joaquin County Office of Education in Stockton, Calif.

In addition to Ariana and Arthur, the junior high competition was filled with a host of super spellers from schools around Lake County.

Students taking part in the competition included:

– Burns Valley School: Teda Chang and Kim Gonzales.

– East Lake School: Taylor Klemin and Jeremy Meade-Malley.

– Lower Lake School: Joseph Llewellyn and Weeden Wetmore.

– Middletown Middle School: Natalia Young.

– Mt. Vista Middle School: Bryce Bouchard and Roberto Lozano.

– Pomo School: Lacey Amaral and Katrina Willimas.

– Terrace School: Charlie Crockett.

– Upper Lake Middle School: Juan Ruiz and Lyla Seevers.

Students who qualified but were unable to participate in the completion are Taylor Kruszewski, Terrace School and Alanna Taylor, Lucerne Elementary School.

In the elementary spelling bee, school spelling champs who participated in the competition were:

– Burns Valley School: Karina Martinez.

– Cobb Mountain Elementary: John Thomas.

– Coyote Valley Elementary: McKenna Farres and Olivia Glosser.

– East Lake School: Vanessa Hughes and Maile Weldon.

– Kelseyville Elementary: Esgar Aguirre and Faith Thomas.

– Lower Lake Elementary: Rhianna Rhodes.

– Lucerne Elementary: Desiree McInerney.

– Minnie Cannon Elementary: Cate Allen and Sara Vierra.

– Mt. Vista Middle School: Peter Diaz and Kaylie Williams.

– Pomo School: Cyrus Pouladdezh.

– Riviera Elementary School: Jason Gentle and Hailey Johnson.

– Terrace School: Maclane McGrath and Flynn Melendy-Collier.

– Upper Lake Elementary: Lia Long.

– Upper Lake Middle School: Emil Driskell.

Students who qualified but were unable to participate in the elementary competition include Jonathan DeCou, Burns Valley Elementary; Jordan Harris, Pomo School; and Brittany Delfino, Lower Lake Elementary.

The Lake County Office of Education, which coordinates the annual spelling competitions, offered a very special “thank you” to Principal Tony Loumena and the staff at Upper Lake Middle School for hosting the junior high spelling bee and to Assistant Principal Andy Goodwin and staff at Terrace School in Lakeport for hosting the elementary spelling bee.

Master of ceremonies/spell master for both of the spelling bees was Stephanie Wayment, ELA/ELD specialist at Lake County Office of Education.

The judges for the competition were Robin Totorica and Jan Bailey, also from the Lake County Office of Education.

Lake County Superintendent of Schools Wally Holbrook was in attendance to congratulate each of the spelling champions.

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