Crane student takes 3rd at state spelling contest
Zarrin Askari won Yuma bee in February
Yuma County’s Zarrin Askari took third place in the Arizona State Spelling Bee on Saturday in Phoenix.
Askari, who won the Yuma contest several weeks ago, is an eighthgrader at Crane Middle School. Askari was supported in the audience by her parents and other family members and her English teacher, Marjorie McCarthy.
McCarthy, who teaches reading at Crane and is the organizer of the school’s spelling bee, said that Askari’s final word was “ingerence,” which means “interference, intrusion.”
The two finalists did five more words, McCarthy said, with Phoenix-area seventh-grader Marcus Giorza winning on the word “anthophilous.” The word is a zoological term meaning “(of insects or other animals) frequenting flowers.”
Askari was awarded a trophy and an Amazon gift card from the Arizona Education Foundation, which conducts the bee. She was among 27 students statewide vying for the opportunity to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., from May 27 to June 2.
All 27 participants were awarded a copy of The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, courtesy of Harrison Middleton University.
“The Spelling Bee is one of the most highlyanticipated programs we sponsor,” said Arizona Educational Foundation Executive Director Bobbie O’Boyle. “It’s an opportunity to showcase these students’ remarkable talents and to celebrate their academic achievements.”
The event was taped and will be broadcast on AZPBS at 1 p.m. April 8.