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By JOYANNA LOVE | Managing Editor

For the third year in a row, the final two competitors in the Chilton County Spelling Bee were Marley Holsomback and Jadyn Smitherman.

Holsomback, who attends Clanton Middle School, won her second county title in a row by correctly spelling “litmus.”

She said when the word was called out, she knew she could spell it correctly because it was one she had studied.

“I expected to do pretty well,” Holsomback said. “I didn’t really know if I was going to win or not, but I have been studying.”

From here, Holsomback will represent Chilton County at the state level.

“I am looking forward to just the environment,” she said. “It’s really fun and a good experience all around.”

In fourth grade, Holsomback decided to give the spelling bee a try and her skills have developed since then.

Runner-up Smitherman, who attends Maplesville High School, had been the county champion in 2021. She said she was fairly confident she would place in the competition.

This year’s county competition included 11 students. Each had won the competition at their school to move on to the county level.

The competition included challenging words like forgeable, measly, mumbo and boorish.