Spelling duo duel for top honors
By Jill Denning Gackle
BHG News
Some might spell it r-i-v-a-l. But it’s more likely Emily Scheresky and Christina Bingham would spell it f-r-i-e-n-d.
Emily, a Washburn seventh grader, and Christina, a Max seventh grader, have been facing off at the McLean County Spelling Bee since they were first graders. Again and again it was Emily or Christina among the best spellers in the county.
Christina’s mom, Peggy, said, "Funny thing is that they have been to every spelling bee, but they’ve become really good friends. It’s not like a rivalry. They’re good sports, and they hope each other win."
This year they’ll both head to the state spelling bee March 21 as the first and second place county winners. Emily took first on the word "flamboyant."
Although they covet the crown and enjoy winning, they enjoy seeing each other in the arenas of spelling, 4-H, music camp and math meets. They also face off in basketball where Emily admits it’s good to beat her Max opponent.
Last year Emily took her worst beating yet when she slid to fifth place at the county spelling bee.
"It didn’t feel very good," she admitted. She said she was thrown off her studying game when she spent many hours reviewing the state spelling bee list instead of the county list.
