MPH Apply Now

Top 35 finalists advance in The Post-Standard/WCNY Spelling Bee

Syracuse, NY — Griffin Marriner will never forget how to spell the word “doctrinaire.”

That is the word that he spelled wrong last year during the oral portion of The Post-Standard/WCNY Spelling Bee. Marriner, a fifth-grader from Lanigan Elementary in the Fulton City School District, will get a second chance this year.

Marriner is one of the top 35 finalists from today’s written portion of the spelling bee. More than 100 students took the written test this morning at Onondaga Community College. The students were asked to spell 40 words. Five of the words were used as tiebreakers. (See list of words below)

“I thought it was difficult, but it wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be,” Marriner said.

Carter Leonard, a sixth-grader at Camillus Middle School in the West Genesee School District, will also be moving on to the oral round.

“It was really difficult,” Leonard told his grandparents, Regina and Robert King, as he walked out of the test.

“But did you spell your name right?” Robert King joked to his 11-year-old grandson.

Leonard said he didn’t study for the written test, but he loves to read.

“We are really proud of him,” Regina King said.

The top 35 scorers on the test will move on to compete in the oral round, which will be televised on WCNY on Feb. 1. The winner of the oral round will compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in June

Below is the list of the 35 finalists. The finalists are listed in order according to how they scored on the test. The top five finalists all received perfect scores and are listed in no particular order.

Here are the 35 finalists:

  1. Meghan Graber, Christian Brothers Academy (8th grade)
  2. Josh Wilk, Gillette Road Middle School, North Syracuse (6th grade)
  3. Alaina Kenny, Onondaga Hill Middle School, Westhill (8th grade)
  4. Grace Getman, Christian Brothers Academy (8th grade)
  5. Somil Aggarwal, Jamesville-DeWitt Middle School, Jamesville-DeWitt (8th grade)
  6. Griffin Marriner, Lanigan Elementary, Fulton City Schools (5th grade)
  7. Bianca Gascon, McNamara Elementary, Baldwinsville (5th grade)
  8. Samantha Lucas, Manlius Pebble Hill (6th grade)
  9. Matthew King, Durgee Junior High, Baldwinsville (8th grade)
  10. Peri Cannavo, Montessori School of Syracuse (6th grade)
  11. Camryn Greabell, Pine Grove Middle School, East Syracuse Minoa(8th grade)
  12. Sarah Schwalbe, Onondaga Hill Middle School, Westhill (8th grade)
  13. Joshua Lacey-Baldwin, H.W, Smith School, Syracuse City Schools (8th grade)
  14. Madison Grolling, Onondaga Jr./Sr. High, Onondaga Central (7th grade)
  15. Jessica Mullin, Durgee Junior High, Baldwinsville (8th grade)
  16. Natalie Feikes, Ed Smith School, Syracuse City Schools (7th grade)
  17. Kenny Zheng, Chestnut Hill Middle School, Liverpool (8th grade)
  18. Jingwen Ou, Chestnut Hill Middle School, Liverpool (7th grade)
  19. Snigdha Patra, Eagle Hill Middle School, F-M (6h grade)
  20. Abigail Ray, East Hill Elementary, West Genesee (5th grade)
  21. Tyler Piper, Ramsdell Middle School, Jordan-Elbridge (6th grade)
  22. Carter Leonard, Camillus Middle School, West Genesee (6th grade)
  23. Albert Wang, Jamesville-DeWitt Middle School, Jamesville-DeWitt (7th grade)
  24. Victor Chen, Wellwood Middle School, Fayetteville-Malnius (8th grade)
  25. Aleksa Brill, Onondaga Jr./Sr. High, Onondaga Central (8th grade)
  26. Collin Puchta, Camillus Middle School, West Genesee (8th grade)
  27. Christian Bourdon, Gillette Road Middle School, North Syracuse (7th grade)
  28. Alea Denney, Ray Middle School, Baldwinsville (6th grade)
  29. Jessica Georges, Central Square Middle School, Central Square (6th grade)
  30. Tess Engst-Mansilla, Cortland Jr./Sr. High, Cortland (7th grade)
  31. Stephen Ponzer, Cazenovia Middle School, Cazenovia (7th grade)
  32. Annaliese OuYang, Eagle Hill Middle School, Fayetteville-Manlius (7th grade)
  33. Tristan Piper, Ramsdell Middle School, Jordan-Elbridge (6th grade)
  34. Maia McIntosh, Wheeler Elementary School, Onondaga Central (6th grade)
  35. Paige Kingsley, Volney Elementary, Fulton City Schools (4th grade)
    1. famished
    2. lucrative
    3. diadem
    4. aura
    5. travesty
    6. corduroy
    7. emblazoned
    8. photogenic
    9. imperious
    10. tangible
    11. derivative
    12. acrylics
    13. rejuvenate
    14. congressional
    15. sedentary
    16. appellate
    17. ombudsman
    18. porosity
    19. perceived
    20. thermal
    21. topical
    22. dissect
    23. measure
    24. icicle
    25. embargo
    26. bruin
    27. retrospective
    28. prairie
    29. igneous
    30. ambiguity
    31. fiery
    32. alfalfa
    33. abdicate
    34. trajectory
    35. rhinoceros
    1. dodecahedron
    2. occipital
    3. roustabout
    4. macrocosm
    5. anthropomorphic
  36. Could you pass the spelling bee test? Here’s a look at the words:

    Tiebreakers: