Maricopa student takes top spot at Legacy district spelling bee

Three campuses were represented at Maricopa’s Legacy Traditional School in the 2nd annual district spelling bee on Thursday. Eighteen spellers competed from Maricopa, Queen Creek and Casa Grande.

The top speller was Vanessa Sheehan, a 7th grader at Maricopa Legacy. Sheehan, who won in the fifth round of the bee, is headed to county competition along with Whitney Soloman, a 6th grader from Maricopa, and Cade Lamb, an 8th grade student at the Queen Creek Legacy campus.

Bethany Caldwell, 6th grade, and Duncan Anderson, 8th grade, both from Queen Creek, were named as alternates.

Spelling bee contestants, who were the top two spellers in their classes and the top six in their respective schools, were:

Maricopa:
Aidyn Curtis, 4th
Destiny Warner, 5th
Juan Del Real, Whityney Soloman, 6th grade
Vanessa Sheehan, 7th grade
Lyndsey Voyles, 8th
 
Casa Grande:
Chasity Mayo, 5th grade
Isabella Fredrick, Valerie Melvin, Alejandro Mendoza, 6th grade
Nicholas Minjores, Megan Poland, 8th grade
 
Queen Creek:
Alexis Jones, 5th grade
Melanie Backman, Bethany Caldwell, Sydney Vigneux, 6th
Duncan Anderson, Cade Lamb, 8th grade

“We are so proud of them. It is a huge accomplishment to be here,” said Katie Gjurgevich, Maricopa Legacy fourth grade teacher and spelling bee coordinator, in her program notes. 

Aaron Hale, one of the Legacy founders, pronounced the words. Judges were Maricopa City Councilmen Carl Diedrich and Alan Marchione, and DPS Sergeant David Blue.

Photo by Joyce Hollis  (pictured from left: Whitney Soloman, Cade Lamb, top speller Vanessa Sheehan, alternates Bethany Caldwell and Duncan Anderson)