Miles wins district spelling bee

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  • Sixth grade student at Snyder Junior High, Heaven Miles, won the district spelling bee Wednesday at Jerry P. Worsham Auditorium. Danielle Baiza, fourth grade student at Snyder Intermediate School, was runner-up. The champion qualified to compete in the 66th annual regional spelling bee in Lubbock on March 4.
    Sixth grade student at Snyder Junior High, Heaven Miles, won the district spelling bee Wednesday at Jerry P. Worsham Auditorium. Danielle Baiza, fourth grade student at Snyder Intermediate School, was runner-up. The champion qualified to compete in the 66th annual regional spelling bee in Lubbock on March 4.
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Heaven Miles won the Snyder ISD district spelling bee Wednesday at Worsham Auditorium despite not remembering the day of the event.

Danielle Baiza finished second among the 12 students who represented Snyder Primary, Snyder Intermediate and Snyder Junior High schools. Miles will compete in the 66th annual regional spelling bee at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center on March 4. 

Miles, a sixth grader, won despite forgetting the day of the event and not practicing since competing in her grade-level event at Snyder Junior High School.

“I had forgotten it was today so I just winged it,” she said. “Up until the last one, I had to do spelling every night, especially on the weekends because that is when I kind of forgot. I feel happy because last year I got runner-up and this year I won.”

Kentara McDonald, Miles’ mother, was excited to see her daughter win.

“I’m so excited about this because she was runner-up at this point last year,” McDonald said. “Next, she’ll be going to Lubbock. I think it’s great, that’s what we’ve been shooting for, actually we’re shooting for (Washington) D.C. (the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee). But it’s cool to get there and that gives her one step forward. So we’re super excited about it and we’re going to be studying hard for (regionals). She found a great mentor just now who actually made it to D.C.” 

McDonald said Snyder High School sophomore Rena Morrell, who qualified for the national spelling bee in 2014, offered to help Miles.

“I want to help her because I want her to make it to the national spelling bee, because I know how much fun it is,” Morrell said. “I got out of my history class to be here because I love the spelling bee. Even though I wasn’t friends with anyone in it, I’m kind of friends with Heaven now.”

Morrell’s stepfather, Travis Bryant, said he has mentored Morrell since she began competing in the third grade.

“We always come to support them. It’s exciting. We always come watch the regionals, too,” he said.

Bryant said he and Morrell plan to be in Lubbock to cheer for Miles.

Baiza was happy to reach the final two of the district event, which lasted 19 rounds.

“When I was the last one standing, I was really nervous and when I found out I got second, I got really excited even though I didn’t win,” Baiza said. “Its a really fun experience. I plan on participating every year that I can.”

Baiza’s mother, Kim Baiza, said she was proud of her daughter.

“I’m just very proud of her, very proud. She’s always been an avid reader, so this is great because reading pays off,” she said.

Becky Hale, guided reading instructor at Snyder Primary School, said she was proud of the two third grade students who participated in the district spelling bee. One of them, John Gregory, who was third and competed in district for the first time. His parents and grandparents also said they were proud of him.

“We’re very proud of him. I think he did a great job. I felt more nervous than him,” said father Travis Gregory.

Other spellers who competed in the district spelling bee were Robert Arellano, Xavier Sigarillo, Addison Ulm, Walker Wilson, Hailey Jent, Caira Galvan, Desire Malmsten, Logan Free and Zachary Meador.