Published: March 17, 2008 10:38 pm         

St. Francis de Sales student wins bee

Matthew Koh said he didn’t have to guess how to spell any words at Saturday’s 2008 Gazette-Mail Regional Spelling Bee.

“I knew all of the words I was given to spell,” Koh said. “That meant I wasn’t really nervous, and that’s a good feeling to have when it’s your turn.”

Koh, a sixth-grade student at St. Francis de Sales Catholic School in Beckley, correctly spelled “phosphoric” to win the regional contest and a trip to this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington.

“I am happy for him and so very proud of him,” said his mother, Rosemary.

She said the spelling bee win was a great early birthday present.

“It’s my birthday Thursday and he said he was going to give me a spelling championship for my birthday gift,” Rosemary said.

She said her son has always been a good speller, but he studied extra hard for the county and regional contests.

“He almost always makes a hundred percent on his spelling tests, but he really earned this win,” Rosemary said. “He studied many extra hours for many days to win the county honor and now he is studying just as hard for the national contest.”

For Matthew to win the contest, he had to correctly spell words in 15 rounds of competition.

“I was confident, but I was surprised when I won,” he said. “There were some really great spellers at the bee.”

Bassel Zein, 12, an eighth-grader at Princeton Middle School, was the contest’s runner-up.

In the final round, Zein misspelled the word “treatise,” while Matthew spelled “phosphoric” to win.

Cassidy Dickens, 14, an eighth-grade student at Braxton County Middle School, finished third.

There were 44 students invited to the contest from 22 counties. Only three spellers didn’t show up to compete, officials reported. More than 200 words were used before a winner was declared.

Matthew, age 11, says he is a veteran spelling bee contestant.

“I was in the Raleigh County spelling bee in fourth, fifth and sixth grades,” he said. “But this was my first time in the regional bee.”

Matthew says in addition to spelling, his favorite subjects are science and social studies. His hobbies include playing basketball, martial arts, reading and playing the piano.

“I plan to continue studying for the national bee and will try my best,” he said.

Matthew received a SMART529 college savings plan contribution through the state Treasurer’s office from the Hartford Life Insurance Co. A $2,500 donation went into a WV Direct College Savings Plan. Hartford, which operates the state’s SMART529 plan, will manage the account.

The spelling bee was taped, and a condensed version will be broadcast at noon March 29 on MyZ-TV, the sister station to WSAZ-TV 3 in Charleston and Huntington. Suddenlink cable users can find MyZ at Channel 3.