COURT HOUSE – Thirteen-year-old Taylor McNeal spends some of her spare time as a cheerleader at Middle Township Middle School. Soon, though, she will know how it feels to be the recipient of cheers as she travels the road to a different kind of Super Bowl.
In front of an audience of 700 students and parents at Middle Township’s Performing Arts Center, McNeal defeated 28 other contestants between the ages of 11 and 14, in the 23rd round of the fifth annual spelling bee of the township’s middle school. Her big win advances her to the South Jersey finals at Folsom Elementary School March 10 at 9 a.m. Competing there will be winners from Cape May, Atlantic, Cumberland, Salem and Gloucester counties.
If she wins at Folsom, McNeal will move on to what amounts to the Super Bowl of spelling bees in the nation’s capital in late May. That will be the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and judging from the cheering that went on at The PAC, that enthusiasm will follow her to the final arena.
McNeal won the title by spelling the word “toggle” correctly. It is defined as “a wooden or plastic, bar-shaped button inserted through a loop for fastening.”
Second place finisher was 14-year-old Brianna Robinson who has been a spelling bee contestant since she was in fourth grade, and also took second place last year. Third place went to 13-year-old Cowhen Mills.
Producer of the bee was Connie Chabok, instructional supervisor and literacy teacher at the middle school.
“All participants did an excellent job and all should be proud,” she said.
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