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Cheyenne Davis: No. 1 speller in Cochise County
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| Champion: Cheyenne Davis of St. David holds her first-place trophy after winning the Cochise County Spelling Bee Saturday. Sharing the joy with Cheyenne are her sisters, Madison, 8, right, Taryn, 14, and friend Brooke Young, 19, left. |
St. David 6th-grader advances to state spelling bee
Liz Manring/Wick communications
When sixth-grader Cheyenne Davis is given a word to spell, like many other students, she visualizes the word in her head.
But Cheyenne sees the words specifically in her mother's handwriting.
"My mom made flash cards for me of all the (about 1,000) words on the list," she said. "Except for the easy ones, the ones I already know."
This tactic helped Cheyenne win the Cochise County Spelling Bee on Saturday. The St. David student beat out fifth-grader Anthony Byrd from Faras Elementary in Douglas for the title.
Thirty-two of the top spellers representing each school in the county sat nervously in front of a near capacity crowd at the Buena High School lecture pod. By the second round, half of them had been eliminated. By the third round, only six were left.
Sixth-grader Alex Paris from Bisbee Middle School was ousted on the word "meistersinger" in round two.
After Buena Assistant Principal Elaine Carlson pronounced the word, Alex initially acted as if he couldn't believe he'd been given the rather tough, foreign-sounding word, asking "What?" The crowd chuckled, some knowing they couldn't spell the word either.
After a few repeats, he finally decided to give it a try and left out the initial "e."
"My dad helped me practice, and he's German," Alex said, visibly frustrated, but keeping a smile after the round. "We've been over German words."
"We worked through Japanese, Slavic, French, and Greek words, too," said his dad, Buzz Pearson.
"I will try again next year," Alex said.
Cheyenne, Anthony and Justin Nguyen, from San Simon, were left standing at the end of the third round. All three missed their initial words, which gave them all a second chance in the round.
Cheyenne said she really did know how to spell "Kremlin," the only word she missed during the day.
"I think I just got overly nervous," she said. "I knew all of them."
When Justin missed "junta" in the next round, the battle between Anthony and Cheyenne was on.
Anthony missed "cruller." Cheyenne spelled "alcohol" correctly, and finished off her victory with "musicale."
A support group consisting of her dad, brother, sisters and friends were there to give hugs and high-fives after the competition.
Cheyenne said she studied nearly every night, sometimes on her own, but usually with her mom helping with the flash cards.
Her father, Braden Davis, said the family has its own spelling bee competition at home sometimes, with mom as moderator. Cheyenne, who finished third in last year's county spelling bee, always wins.
"I wanted to come back this year," she said. "I was a little afraid I'd get a lower place than last year."
Cheyenne's hope is to work her way up to a new level every year. She won the school's spelling bee last year, the county spelling bee this year, and, if the trend continues, hopefully state next year, and nationals in her final year of eligibility.
State Rep. Pat Fleming, a Democrat who represents District 25, also made an appearance in the audience at the spelling bee on Saturday. She said she is going to try to make it to the state spelling bee, held on March 28 in Tempe, to show her support for Cheyenne.
"I learned a lot today," Fleming said. "I'm surprised and impressed at these kids. They're studying hard for this, and it's nice to see all the support they get from their schools."
(Liz Manring is a reporter at the Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review.)
Liz Manring/Wick communications
When sixth-grader Cheyenne Davis is given a word to spell, like many other students, she visualizes the word in her head.
But Cheyenne sees the words specifically in her mother's handwriting.
"My mom made flash cards for me of all the (about 1,000) words on the list," she said. "Except for the easy ones, the ones I already know."
This tactic helped Cheyenne win the Cochise County Spelling Bee on Saturday. The St. David student beat out fifth-grader Anthony Byrd from Faras Elementary in Douglas for the title.
Thirty-two of the top spellers representing each school in the county sat nervously in front of a near capacity crowd at the Buena High School lecture pod. By the second round, half of them had been eliminated. By the third round, only six were left.
Sixth-grader Alex Paris from Bisbee Middle School was ousted on the word "meistersinger" in round two.
After Buena Assistant Principal Elaine Carlson pronounced the word, Alex initially acted as if he couldn't believe he'd been given the rather tough, foreign-sounding word, asking "What?" The crowd chuckled, some knowing they couldn't spell the word either.
After a few repeats, he finally decided to give it a try and left out the initial "e."
"My dad helped me practice, and he's German," Alex said, visibly frustrated, but keeping a smile after the round. "We've been over German words."
"We worked through Japanese, Slavic, French, and Greek words, too," said his dad, Buzz Pearson.
"I will try again next year," Alex said.
Cheyenne, Anthony and Justin Nguyen, from San Simon, were left standing at the end of the third round. All three missed their initial words, which gave them all a second chance in the round.
Cheyenne said she really did know how to spell "Kremlin," the only word she missed during the day.
"I think I just got overly nervous," she said. "I knew all of them."
When Justin missed "junta" in the next round, the battle between Anthony and Cheyenne was on.
Anthony missed "cruller." Cheyenne spelled "alcohol" correctly, and finished off her victory with "musicale."
A support group consisting of her dad, brother, sisters and friends were there to give hugs and high-fives after the competition.
Cheyenne said she studied nearly every night, sometimes on her own, but usually with her mom helping with the flash cards.
Her father, Braden Davis, said the family has its own spelling bee competition at home sometimes, with mom as moderator. Cheyenne, who finished third in last year's county spelling bee, always wins.
"I wanted to come back this year," she said. "I was a little afraid I'd get a lower place than last year."
Cheyenne's hope is to work her way up to a new level every year. She won the school's spelling bee last year, the county spelling bee this year, and, if the trend continues, hopefully state next year, and nationals in her final year of eligibility.
State Rep. Pat Fleming, a Democrat who represents District 25, also made an appearance in the audience at the spelling bee on Saturday. She said she is going to try to make it to the state spelling bee, held on March 28 in Tempe, to show her support for Cheyenne.
"I learned a lot today," Fleming said. "I'm surprised and impressed at these kids. They're studying hard for this, and it's nice to see all the support they get from their schools."
(Liz Manring is a reporter at the Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review.)
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Cheyenne Davis wrote on Mar 18, 2009 5:40 PM: