Defensive lineman wins spelling bee, thinks it’s ‘Astounding’

If you’re gonna win a regional spelling bee and earn a first-ever visit to the nation’s capital, why not do it on the word “superlative”?

That’s what Alexander Ottens did in the 13th round to capture the Lee-Ogle-Whiteside Regional Spelling Bee on Thursday at Wiltz Auditorium at Dixon High School.

But if you ask him, the word he encountered that best describes the moment was his second-rounder, “astounding.”

“I’m pretty astounded,” he said.

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Alexander Ottens of Prophetstown-Lyndon-Tampico Middle School reacts to winning the Lee-Ogle-Whiteside Regional Spelling Bee Thursday, March 9, 2023. (Alex T. Paschal - apaschal@shawmedia.com/credit)

Ottens is an eighth grader who attends PLT Middle School and lives in rural Lyndon with his parents Ashley and Chad Ottens.

Ottens plays sports, including baseball, basketball and football. When asked if he’s the best speller on the defensive line, he smiled broadly. “Probably,” he said.

Now he’s qualified for the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which begins May 28 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. The preliminary round will be May 30 and the finals will be June 1.

The final three rounds were between Ottens and Jake Bailey, a seventh-grader from United Christian School in Fulton.

Ottens spelled “shenanigans” and Bailey answered with “platitude.” Then Ottens spelled “immie”, which is a small ball, like a marble. Bailey, however, misspelled “galvanize”, setting up Ottens for his final word. He offered up a big sigh after nailing it.

When the field opened with 31 competitors, Ottens spelled “owlishly” in the first round, leaped over the aforementioned “astounding” in the second, and in turn, spelled “merchandise”, “hijab”, “castor”, “bodkin”, “genteel”, and “solstice.”

By then, the field was whittled to four, all of whom were relaxed, confident spellers. The other two were Forreston Junior-Senior High sixth-grader Cora Schmidt, who finished third, and Amboy Junior High sixth-grader Parker Zimmerly, who was fourth.

Ottens knocked down “jarl”, which is a type of Norse chieftain that he said he knew from playing the online game Totally Accurate Battle Simulator.

Ottens had been a methodical, purposeful speller for most of the competition, but the next round with “astringent” he zipped through the letters. A leap of faith, going so quickly?

“I was, like, still a little bit unsure, so I just went with it,” he said.

Tom Wadsworth, who was serving as presenter for the 41st year, said Ottens was clearly a competitor who drilled on the word lists.

“He studied. That was clear.” said Wadsworth, who prefaced his introduction by saying how difficult this year’s words list was. “The number one determinant of kids that do well is study.”

After the competition Ottens posed for a photo with quiz bowl teammate Taylor Robshaw of Erie Middle School. Robshaw was making her fourth appearance in the regional bee and Ottens said he considered her a contender from the outset.

I’m pretty astounded.”

—  Alexander Ottens, winner of the 2023 Lee-Ogle-Whiteside Regional Spelling Bee

Robshaw lasted until the fourth round — leaving on “rehearsal” — when the Level 2 words kicked in and the field was trimmed by four.

By the fifth round another four contestants were gone. One more bowed out in the sixth. The seventh round culling was particularly tough, seeing four depart.

Those middle rounds eliminated the likes of Oregon Elementary’s Lia Tran, a sixth-grader in pink boots, matching tulle skirt and stuffed animal purse who was unofficially the most polite contestant, quietly saying “thank you” to the presenter after every round. She slipped through on “cockles” in the fourth round even after having to go back and restart the word, a tough trick. But the next round she stepped out on “equinox.”

Byron Middle School’s Miya Dunk lasted into the next round, advancing on “oxygenate” but stepping out on “nonvolatile.” That was also the round that Zimmerly’s face lit up before he started on “tangerine” and appeared equally pleased to get “Ukrainian” in the eighth round. Meanwhile Morrison Junior High’s Mason Banks, adorned in his red bow tie, avoided a misstep when he asked if his word was “quay”, when in fact, it was “whey”, which he then spelled out correctly.

Banks eventually went out on “cornel” in that brutal seventh that also claimed Noah McKinney from Rochelle Middle with “festooned”, Nathan Stauter from Reagan Middle in Dixon with “chintzy” and A.J. Moore from Montmorency in Rock Falls with “saltatory.”

Schmidt stayed alive by spelling “platoon”, “ordinance” and “stridency” before running afoul of “quiddity.” Bailey stayed in the hunt by spelling “juvenilia”, “statuesque” and “tapioca.”

A year in which the boys did well and broke the near-stranglehold girls have had on the championship title, Wadsworth said. In the last 24 years, girls have won 21 titles, including last year’s Namaste Rose and 2021′s and 2020′s champion Kathleen Keesey.

Thursday’s event had been postponed from Feb. 16, when a winter storm the day before prompted classes to be called off across the region. That meant a delay of 22 days since Wadsworth had conducted the 90-minute rehearsal with the contestants — a tradition that’s meant to promote decorum and alleviate nervous tension on the big stage.

“I was concerned that they might have forgotten all the stuff we went through,” said Wadsworth. “We’re just trying to get them to lose the jitters, get comfortable up there under the lights, coming up to the microphone and the big sound system and all that stuff. But they did well.”

The judges were Jaclynn Basleer-Heather, Candace Lind and Addie Pace.

What did they win?

Here are the awards, which were presented by Regional Superintendent Chris Tennyson and Josh Knuth of the Regional Office of Education 47, and Carol Gehrt of First National Bank in Amboy.

Everyone: School champion medal and Spelling Bee lapel pin.

Third: $25 Amazon gift card.

Second: Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and $50 Amazon gift card.

First: Trip to Scripps National Spelling Bee, 2023 United States Mint proof set, year online subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica, year online subscription to Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary, and a $75 Amazon gift card.