The correct spelling of blouse gave Henryetta fifth grader Kenleigh Kaler the first place trophy in the HES spelling bee Tuesday morning.
She and Baylor Thompson, a fourth grader, went through 27 rounds in the nearly hour-long annual contest before a champion was crowned.
They were thrown into a spell-off when, in the 25th round, both missed correctly spelling their assigned words. Kaler erred on burden while Thompson misspelled hayloft.
They both correctly answered the questions in the 26th round but Thompson missed erode while Kaler was able to spell salsa. That forced her to correctly spell the next word for the win.
Both will be going to the Eastern Oklahoma state spelling bee in Muskogee April 6 at the civic center.
Earlier, Ava Young was eliminated when she was unable to spell snide but she took the third place trophy and is an alternate for the Muskogee contest.
There were 16 elementary students competing in the Tuesday contest. They had won classroom competition.
Those participating included:
Fifth grade: Timothy Brooks, Rowdie Armstrong, Kenleigh Kaler, Breea Stockholm, Abby Pemberton, Ryley Woods, Ava Young and Brady Norman.
Fourth grade: Landyn Kinslow, Allana Lawrence, Jace Masters, Mylie Roser, Baylor Thompson, Marvin Morris, Weston key and Jonah Roberts.