Forest Hills — If you had asked eighth-grader Elliott Covelle who would win the Greater Grand Rapids Spelling Bee, she would have said her schoolmate, seventh-grader Vonn Oosterhouse.
“My mom and I were so afraid of you,” Elliott told Vonn. “I thought you had a photographic memory.”
However, Vonn predicted that Elliott would win — and he was correct.
“I got the word ‘theorem,’ and I spelled it with a ‘u’ (t-h-e-r-u-m),” Vonn said. “I thought I had it correct because that is how I have always spelled it. It’s a common mistake, so when the person said it was wrong, I was surprised.”
Fifteen regional qualifying students from Kent, Ottawa, Muskegon, Newaygo, Allegan and Barry counties participated in the Greater Grand Rapids Spelling Bee, hosted by Kent ISD, which took place in March at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum.
Her win means that Elliott will compete at the 100th Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals May 27-29.
Taking the Title
The Grand Rapids competition is in the format of a spelldown, where each speller receives one word per round. They must spell the word correctly in order to advance to the next round. There were a total of 18 rounds in this year’s competition.
After Vonn misspelled “theorem,” Elliott was given the word “torsion,” which she spelled correctly.
Per the rules, Elliott had to spell another word to win. The word was “hagiographer,” meaning a person who writes about the lives of saints.
She spelled it correctly, becoming the second Forest Hills Northern Hills Middle School student to win the regional competition, after Aiden Mischley won in 2016. It is the first time in the school’s history that both the winner and runner-up came from Northern Hills.
This was Elliott’s second time at the Grand Rapids competition. At last year’s event, she placed third.
Having tasted success, this year Elliott made a commitment to win by studying words on the Scripps National Spelling Bee app, Word Club.
“I spent time with my mom reviewing all the words on the app that would be in the bee,” Elliott said. “I was very focused. I would study on the bus and about every night unless there was soccer, sports or extra homework.”
On average, between January — when her school held its spelling bee — and March, Elliott said she studied around 60 words each day during a 40-minute session.
“I didn’t do as much as Elliott,” Vonn said with a chuckle. But he was no slacker, spending about 20 minutes a day reviewing words from the app in preparation.
Heading to the National Competition
Later this month, Elliott and a parent will travel to the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center near Washington, D.C., where the National Spelling Bee will take place.
“Because this is the 100th anniversary, there are a lot of special activities taking place, so it will be fun to be able to participate in those events,” Elliott said.
Elliott said she does not expect to win the national competition because, in her words, those who compete are “crazy good at spelling.” But she does have a goal of making it through at least a few rounds before being eliminated.
Vonn also has a goal: to win next year’s Greater Grand Rapids Spelling Bee.
He has a big cheerleader in Elliott, who said, “I believe he can do it.”
Along with the trip to the national event, Elliott received the Samuel Louis Sugarman Award, a 2025 United States Mint Proof coin set, a one-year subscription to Britannica online premium and a Merriam-Webster Unabridged online certificate.
As a top-five finisher, Vonn received a trophy and a Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition.
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