ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Jacob Theaker will head to Washington, D.C., to compete in the national finals after securing first place in the Belmont County Spelling Bee on Thursday evening.

Countless hours of studying paid off for the Martins Ferry Middle School seventh-grader who, after successfully completing eight rounds, won the competition. The 13-year-old Theaker took home first place after correctly spelling the words “embryo” and “pachinko” – the final two words of the contest. This was his second year competing in the county bee.

Following the competition, Theaker said it felt “really good” to win the bee. He said he studied at least an hour every night to prepare with the help of his mother, Jennifer.

Theaker said he is looking forward to the trip to D.C., where he will compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee on June 2. He said is most excited about the stay in the hotel.

Theaker’s parents, Rich and Jennifer Theaker, said they were “very proud” of their son. Jennifer said they spent many hours going over the spelling bee words, carefully sounding them out, leading up to the competition.

“The hardest part was making sure I gave him the right pronunciations,” she said.

Theaker’s main advice for future county bee participants is to take it “slow” before spelling out a word.

“Go slow, think really hard about the word before you try and respond,” he said.

The first place winner receives a $500 cash prize, a trophy, a Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online Certificate, The Samuel Louis Sugarman Award, a plaque with the two winning words for their school, a traveling trophy for the school, a one-year subscription to the Britannica Online Premium and a trip to the Scripps National Spelling Bee for the winner, a parent and a teacher or coach.

The runner-up in the competition was Gracie Evans, 12, a sixth-grader at Martins Ferry Christian Academy. Evans will serve as the county alternate to the national bee if for some reason Theaker cannot attend. She received a $250 cash prize, second place trophy and Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary for placing second.

Elizabeth Viczian took home third place, which came with $150 and a trophy; and Maggie Milliken took home fourth and received $100 and a trophy.

The remaining 14 finalists received a certificate to be redeemed for $50, ribbons, certificates and bee bobble heads. Those contestants included Lily Ulrich, Chloe Meholovitch, Peyton Tiger, De’ja DeFelice, Clay Utter, Keyuri Morgan, Julie Patterson, Drake Finnicum, Liv McCrate, Brett Kuproqicz, Laylah Hores, Jaden Beck, Ben Eberhart and Bryden Volan.

Cash prizes were provided by Belmont Savings Bank, which is a sponsor of the bee. Bank employees involved in the effort include Todd Cover, president and CEO; Mark Nicholson, vice president, business development officer; Rich Silverio, vice president, loan officer; Pam McKim, vice president, business development; Jane Lucas, universal banker, Barnesville; Alissa Huffman, branch manager, Powhatan; Razmine Rouse, branch manager, St. Clairsville; Courtney Smith, branch manager, Bellaire.

This year’s bee sponsors also include The Times Leader, Uniglobe Travel, Airport Limousine Service, Bordas & Bordas, Belmont College, Ohio River Valley Elks and the Last Central Ohio Educational Service Center.