The Niwot Elementary Spelling Bee results

The 13th annual Niwot Elementary School Spelling Bee was held Wednesday. Dec. 7. The first place winner was fifth-grader Eden Himmerick, who won third place in last year's competition. Fifth-grader Joey Marcoux won second place. Third place was a three-way tie between fifth-graders Sophie Shaw and Genevieve Ciminski, and fourth-grader Nika Magginetti.

The winning word was "blasphemous."

Himmerick's first-place finish won her a copy of the "New Oxford American Dictionary" and she will advance to the Regional Spelling Bee on March 11 at Nevin Platt Middle School. The winner of the Regional Spelling Bee will go on to the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. Niwot Elementary School's Sylvia Madry placed third at last year's Regional Spelling Bee.

"In the past, we've had four kids that have gone on to the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.," said Julie Nelson-Breyer, a third-grade teacher at Niwot Elementary and head of the Spelling Bee Committee for 13 years. "Thirteen years ago, our principal was looking for something more on the academic side to get our kids excited about learning. So, we started attending the local spelling bee and decided to create our own, where kids can compete in Boulder County's Regional Spelling Bee."

"I just felt like it would be fun to participate and maybe it could help me improve my skills on spelling," said Marcoux, who won a word calendar for his second-place finish. "And I could learn new words."

"I thought competing would be a fun thing to do," said first-place winner Himmerick. "I went to all the study sessions I could go to and studied a little bit at home. I'm excited, but also nervous about the regionals."