Two Ellinwood students were victorious Saturday at Barton County’s spelling bee. The winner was Addilyn Joiner, a seventh-grader at St. Joseph Catholic School, and the runner-up was Paityn Seifert, a sixth-grader at Ellinwood Elementary School.

Twenty-four students from 12 schools were eligible to compete Saturday in the Donald H. Humprheys 2026 Barton County Spelling Bee. The bee took place in the Great Bend High School Auditorium. While most spellers were in grades 5-8, the youngest was Easton Stalcup, a third-grader at Holy Family School in Great Bend.

Pronouncer Julie Carroll said each of the contestants had already qualified to be on the stage by coming in first or second in their schools’ competitions. “Everybody up here is a winner,” she said.

The students had a practice round that was followed by 10 rounds – the final four a showdown between Joiner and Siefert. Joiner correctly spelled “airborne” and then “portrait” to win the contest.

Joiner will advance to the Sunflower State Spelling Bee on March 21 at Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina.

The bee is sponsored by the Great Bend Kiwanis Club and named in honor of the late Donald H. Humphreys, a club member who organized the bee for many years. This year’s organizer and master of ceremonies was Jay Luerman. Judges were Luerman, Wanda Weber and Barb Esfeld. Ceremony greeters were Arlen Schroeder, Joyce Corp and Dan Soeken.