Earp and Maes Take 1st and 2nd in Bee
By John Earp
On Wednesday in the Jal High School Auditorium, the 2025 Spelling Bee was held for Jal Junior High School. Eighth graders Elijah Earp and Urijah Maes took first and second place, respectively, in the bee. Three spellers were eliminated in the first and second rounds, with two being eliminated in the third and fourth and sixth rounds. By round seven, only Maes and Earp remained in the competition. Earp won by spelling avocado correctly. He will advance to compete in the Lea County Spelling Bee, with Maes serving as his alternate if for some reason he is unable to make it to the competition. Earp is the third of his family to win the Jal Junior High Spelling Bee, with his big sister Chloe advancing all the way to the State Spelling Bee when she was in sixth grade. Elijah attributed his spelling bee win Wednesday to “Reading all the time when I was little.” In the Earp household, all five kids were expected to read at least 15 minutes per day in the Bible and 15 minutes per day in an educational book of some kind, such as an encyclopedia.
Besides the first and second place winners, other students who participated in the bee included: Mateo Ramirez, Zulaykah Leyva, Axel Gonzalez, Holland Cook, Damian Zamora, Steven Conway, Adrian Juarez, Joseph Salazar, Kian Rodriguez, Preslie Horton, Easton Mata, K’Dee Gomez, and Sandra Stone.
Judges for the Jal Junior High Spelling Bee were Gina Muniz, Paulean Gonzalez, and Vivian Nieto. Miki Savoie served as pronouncer.
