BRILLIANT — Andrew Macdonald learned the hard way last year not to take any word for granted.

So, when the seventh-grader at Bishop John King Mussio Junior High got a word he felt like he knew with victory on the line in the 39th round this past Saturday, the calm, cool and collected student took his time, asked for the definition to be sure and delivered the victory.

Having heard the definition of the word — “barnacle” — he spelled his way to the championship.

“It doesn’t feel real,” he said. “It feels like a dream.”

The correct spelling gave Macdonald the victory in the 2022 Jefferson-Harrison County Regional Spelling Bee presented by the Herald-Star at Buckeye North Elementary School, ending a marathon duel between him and the event’s defending champion, Harding Middle School eighth-grader Isabella Fletcher.

“I thought, ‘Why is this the championship word when we’ve been spelling all this random stuff?'” Macdonald said.

The word being one he was more comfortable with than several he and Fletcher had correctly spelled to that point was fitting, considering nailing it gave him more than just the victory. It gave Macdonald redemption. Last year, in his first attempt at the regional bee, he misspelled the word “potato” in the opening round, and watched as Fletcher advanced several rounds in the national bee after taking the crown.

“I went out in the first-round last year, I was flustered,” he admitted. “I went out on potato.”

“We learned to practice the easy words,” Andrew’s mother, Suzanne Macdonald, said, calling the early exit last year heartbreaking. “You have to study the beginner words because you have to get through those early rounds when you’re really not settled yet. He learned a lot from last year.”

“My mom really helped me a lot,” Andrew said.

Saturday’s competition, thought to be one of the longest regional bees, lasted nearly four hours, and the final 25 rounds of it were contested between Macdonald and Fletcher.

After round 23, nine rounds into the 25-round head-to-head showdown, pronouncer Mary Ann Zeroski, a retired teacher from Buckeye Local, remarked to the crowd “these two are really good.”

She didn’t know at the time the duo would battle for nearly another hour.

Fletcher, trying to be the seventh repeat winner since the regional bee was started in 1985, on two occasions in rounds 26 and 36 had a chance to end the bee and repeat as champion, but misspelled the words and gave Macdonald life.

Three times, rounds 29, 31 and 32, they both missed.

“Usually, kids eventually hit a word they just mishear, or they just misspell, or something happens, and it is really hard to get past that,” Suzanne said. “At the end they were both making mistakes, but they just kept working through it.

“I’m really proud of Andrew for sticking with it because I know he was exhausted and he kept making his mind think about how the words sounded and how they are spelled and that’s a lot of work (for four hours).”

Andrew admitted he thought he’d been beaten more than once, but stayed ready.

“I thought I was going to lose, honestly,” he said. “I was thinking, can we just end this? But I was surprised I won.”

After round 37, Zeroski asked if the competitors wanted a break for water. Andrew did not hesitate in answering, “No. Let’s finish it.”

He spelled his next two words correctly to do just that.

Having watched Fletcher advance through the rounds of the national bee a year ago on a memorable run, Andrew’s father, Paul Macdonald, knew the challenge he was facing going head-to-head with the champ for more than half the event.

“He worked really hard,” Paul said. “I know what an awesome competitor Isabella is, we were cheering for her last year when she went far in the national bee, so it didn’t surprise me at all that she was up there. It seemed unreal as it went on. Andrew got the winning word, but I want to tip my hat to Isabella, an amazing competitor. We’re very excited and happy for Andrew.”

In addition to the title of regional champion, Andrew’s prizes included:

∫ A trophy from Jefferson County Education Service Center;

∫ One-year subscription to Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary Online;

∫ One-year subscription to Britannica Online Premium from Encyclopedia Britannica;

∫ A $250 gift card from Huntington Bank

∫ Samuel Louis Sugarman Award: A 2022 United States Mint Proof Set (to be received in June) donated by Jay Sugarman, chairman and chief executive officer of iStar Financial in honor of his father, who revered academic achievement

∫ An all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C., for the Scripps National Bee (May 29-June 4), paid by event sponsors.

Fletcher may have come up just short of a return to the national competition, but she walked away with a trophy from Jefferson County ESC, a Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition, donated by Merriam-Webster through the Herald-Star and a $150 gift card from Huntington Bank for her valiant effort.

The top 10 finishers received trophies, and all 50 competitors received a gift card from Huntington of at least $25.

The rest of the top 10 included:

∫ Third — Benedict Gan, Ohio Virtual Academy;

∫ Fourth — Cole Carey, Harding Middle School;

∫ Fifth — Jocelyn Saltsman, Jefferson County Christian School;

∫ Sixth — Ava Mizak, Bishop John King Mussio Junior High;

∫ Seventh — Learynn Hanson, John Gregg Elementary;

∫ Eighth — Kylie Moffat, Bishop John King Mussio Junior High;

∫ Ninth — Brynn Donnelly, Toronto Junior-Senior High School; and

∫ 10th — Tyler Dolecki, Harrison Central Junior-Senior High School.