Super Spellers Assemble
Wadena-Deer Creek student wins regional spelling bee
Josslyn Hansen is the region’s top speller this year.
The Wadena-Deer Creek seventh grader took first place at the 2025 Regional Spelling Bee, hosted by Sourcewell, on March 19. Hansen was declared the winner after successfully spelling the word “anatomical” in the final round. Hansen now moves on to represent the region in the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland, at the end of May.
The top three regional finishers were:
- Champion – Josslyn Hansen, seventh grade, Wadena-Deer Creek
- Runner-up – Ava Kyro, seventh grade, Sebeka
- 2nd Runner-up – William Craig, eighth grade, Pequot Lakes
Each year, Sourcewell hosts the Regional Spelling Bee for third through eighth graders of member schools in the five-county service area of Cass, Crow Wing, Morrison, Todd, and Wadena counties. The winner earns an all-expenses-paid trip to the national spelling bee for themselves and a parent/guardian.
“Everyone showed up playing to win,” said Sourcewell Student Academics Coordinator Crysta Christensen. “The competition was respectful, but definitely fierce! You could feel the importance of this event for each student, especially in the tense final rounds. Congratulations to Josslyn, and to all our competitors who made it this far.”
Each participant was a finalist or champion in their respective district. The representation formula is one speller per 1,000 students based on K-12 enrollment, which also includes private and parochial schools within the geographical boundaries of a district.
Congratulations to all regional spelling bee participants:
- Thomas Ostrowski, fifth grade, Aitkin
- Autumne Haus, eighth grade, Bertha-Hewitt
- Malakyi Foty, third grade, Crosslake
- Brinley Lake, sixth grade, Menahga
- Storm Boyd, seventh grade, Onamia
- William Craig, eighth grade, Pequot Lakes
- Trip Toops, seventh grade, Pierz
- Eirinn Ballou, seventh grade, Pierz
- Lincoln Zajac, fifth grade, Pierz
- Wyatt Dropps, sixth grade, Pine River-Backus
- Hunter Scheel, seventh grade, Royalton
- Ava Kyro, seventh grade, Sebeka
- Ryan Macheel, seventh grade, Staples-Motley
- Emmitt Phillips, eighth grade, Swanville
- Josslyn Hansen, seventh grade, Wadena-Deer Creek