Those who participated in the Clinton County Spelling Bee pose for a photo with Regional Office of Education No. 13 Assistant Superintendent John Consolino. Photo by Matt Wilson The annual Clinton County Spelling Bee on Thursday, Feb. 5, at All Saints Academy in Breese turned into a battle between a pair of Damiansville Elementary School students.
After 30 rounds of spelling, Damiansville eighth-grader Charlotte Cleeton and fifth-grader Will Jansen were the lone two spellers left.
In the 31st round, Jansen misspelled the word antebellum, which is an adjective for something existing before the American Civil War. Cleeton correctly spelled the word weir, which is a barrier across the width of a body of water that alters the flow of water. 
Damiansville eighth-grader Charlotte Cleeton was the champion and Damiansville fifth-grader Will Jansen was the runner-up during the Clinton County Spelling Bee on Feb. 5 at All Saints Academy. Photos by Matt Wilson In the 32nd round, Cleeton correctly spelled the word sortie — a deployment or dispatch of one military unit — to be crowned the champion.
Both Cleeton and Jansen will advance to the Quad County Spelling Bee on Feb. 26 in Mount Vernon at a site to be determined.
Cleeton and Jansen hugged after the competition was completed.
"I'm very proud for myself and for Will," Cleeton said. "I'm very excited that both of us will move on to the Quad County Spelling Bee."
The Quad County Spelling Bee features the top two spellers from Clinton, Jefferson, Marion and Washington counties.
Cleeton won the county spelling bee for the third straight year and the fourth time in five years. She won the bee in fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade.
All Saints Academy seventh-grader Chloe Welling placed third and made it to the 23rd round. Wesclin eighth-grader William Huth was fourth and made it to the 11th round. Wesclin eighth-grader Maren Ringler was fifth and made it to the ninth round.
Those qualifying for the spelling bee along with the top five were Albers eighth-grader Alei Deitz and fifth-grader Claire Loepker, All Saints Academy sixth-grader Evelyn Koerkenmeier, Aviston seventh-grader Eli Thole and sixth-grader Grayson Borowiak, Bartelso eighth-grader Lance Spihlmann and fifth-grader Raelynn Kruep, Breese District 12 seventh-grader Carter Cook, Carlyle eighth-graders Isabella Hester and Chase Reed and fourth-graders Hazel Flanagan and Vayda Timmermann, Germantown seventh-grader Sophie Kabat and sixth-grader Paisley Eversgerd, St. Rose eighth-grader Anna Henrichs and sixth-grader Rylan Schneider, Trinity Hoffman seventh-grader Annabelle Chase and fourth-grader Marta Chase, and Willow Grove eighth-grader Karter Eagan and seventh-grader Lucas Perez.
The participants were tasked with spelling words in each round. Those who spelled their words correctly advanced to the next round. That process continued until there were just two spellers remaining. Those two went head-to-head in a competition to determine the champion.
In the final round, if the first participant spelled the word correctly and the second participant missed their word, the first participant would have to spell another word correctly to be the winner.
All 22 spellers competed in the first round.
Those advancing out of the first round included Kruep, Jansen, Cleeton, Cook, Thole, Eversgerd, Timmermann, Perez, Borowiak, Ringler, Welling, Loepker, Annabelle Chase, Koerkenmeier, Huth, Schneider, Henrichs and Deitz.
Jansen, Cleeeton, Cook, Thole, Perez, Ringler, Welling, Loepker, Annabelle Chase, Koerkenmeier, Huth, Schneider, Henrichs and Deitz made it out of the second round. They all correctly spelled their words in the third round.
Jansen, Cleeton, Thole, Perez, Ringler, Welling, Huth, Henrichs and Deitz spelled their words correctly in the fourth round. Jansen, Cleeton, Ringler, Welling, Huth and Henrichs advanced past the fifth round.
Jansen, Cleeton, Ringler, Welling, Huth and Henrichs spelled their words correctly in the sixth round.
Jansen, Cleeton, Ringler, Welling and Huth spelled their words correctly in the seventh and eighth rounds. Jansen, Cleeton, Welling and Huth spelled their words correctly in the ninth and 10th round. Jansen, Cleeton and Welling spelled their words correctly in rounds 11-22.
Jansen and Cleeton spelled their words correctly in rounds 23-30.
The spelling bee was sponsored by the Regional Office of Education No. 13.
Chris White, who is a principal of one of the ROE's alternative learning centers in Mount Vernon, was the primary judge. Butch Wilson was the moderator.
In the past, the Quad County Spelling Bee was the final level of competition. New this year they will be having an all Southern Illinois Spelling Bee with all of the regional offices in southern Illinois from Marion County down to Cairo. That will feature the top two spellers from each region and will be March 12 at the Rend Lake College auditorium.
