19th Annual Regional Item Spelling Bee to be held Friday

LYNN – Top spellers from 39 elementary and middle schools in Greater Lynn will meet at Lynn English High School Friday evening at 6 p.m. to compete in the 19th Annual Regional Item Spelling Bee. The winner will represent the Item at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May and will spend Bee Week in Washington, D.C., expenses paid by the Item for the winner and parent chaperone.The 26 contestants from Lynn schools are as follows: Mayreliz Perez of Aborn Elementary; Anthony Mulvihill of Drewicz Elementary; Brian Maldonado of Breed Middle; Medina Sehi of Brickett Elementary; Yeidaly Mejia of Callahan Elementary; Leslie Boudreau of Cobbet Elementary; Norberto Rosario of College Application Project, Inc.; Abigail Chloros of Sisson Elementary; Susan Suy of Harrington Elementary; Lauren Mastropietro of Hood Elementary; Patricia Ascuncion of Ingalls Elementary; Kaylee D’Amico of KIPP Academy; James Ippolito of Lincoln-Thomson Elementary; Chet Patvary of Lynn Woods Elementary, Kati Vu of Pickering Middle; Larissa Azevedo of Ford K-8; Kathleen Troisi of Sacred Heart; Julio Mota of St. Pius V, Andre Gaudet of Sewell Anderson Elementary; Alba Soto of Shoemaker Elementary; Gabriella Gil of Marshall Middle; Daniel Ojo of Tracy Elementary; Nara Say of Washington Elementary; Eric Benchhiba of Welcoming Elementary; Tifferny Gerald of Connery Elementary; and Tara Morong of Fallon Elementary.Swampscott will send 5 contestants: P. Anthony Powell of Clarke Elementary; Anna Hunt of Hadley Elementary; Joey Boots-Ebenfield of Stanley Elementary; Collen Curtis, Grade 6, Swampscott Middle; Kristen Foaksman, Grade 7, Swampscott Middle.Saugus, Marblehead, and Revere will send 2 contestants each: Ariana DiBiasio of Belmonte Middle and Gina Fitzgerald of Waybright Elementary in Saugus; Liz Rabkin of Veterans Middle and Hillman Hollister of Village Elementary in Marblehead.Andrew Drinkwater from Lynnfield Middle School is the sole contestant from Lynnfield, and Olivia Aswad is the single contestant from the Johnson School in Nahant.Alternates who will spell in the absence of the school winners are Kyle O’Connor, Aborn; Alanah Morm, Drewicz; Ryan Wildman-Shaw, Belmonte; Collin Hogan, Breed Middle; Jonathan Azevedo, Brickett; Karuna Chiemruom, Callahan; Kathryn Donnelly; Shoemaker; Dea Hoyha, Clarke; Brianna Maynard, Cobbet; Xavier Gonzalez, C.A.E.P.; James Coyle, Sisson; Joseph Turcotte, Hadley; Gina Cerrato, Harrington; Derek DeSantis, Hood; Sophia Holmes, Immaculate Conception; Tyler Hooley, Ingalls; Matt Ryan, Johnson; Tira Rock, Lincoln-Thomson; Jeff Williams, Lynnfield Middle; Benjamin Needham, Lynn Woods; Nicole Hatt, Marblehead Middle; Phelicia Patvary, Pickering Middle; Jennifer Cave, Ford; Nicholas Mucci, Rumney Marsh; Peter Gouros, St. Pius V; Rachel Story; Sewell-Anderson; Kevin Strothman, Stanley; Erica Markarian, Grade 6, Swampscott Middle; Raquel Glasser, Grade 7, Swampscott Middle; Leah DeSantis, Marshall; Dominique Desir, Tracy; Jason Frost, Village; Justin Guzman, Washington; Ana Andrade, Waybright; Stephen Seelley, Welcoming Elementary; Jada Burs, Connery; and Alicia Bernard, Fallon.Item News Editor Jill Gadsby will serve as pronouncer, with Item Education Reporter Dan Baer, Lynn Public Schools Superintendent Nicholas Kostan and Project Summit teacher Kathy Ryan will serve as judges.In addition to the top prize of an all-expenses paid trip to the Scripps National Spelling Bee and Bee Week, the winner will receive a $100 savings bond from the Louis Sugarman trust, a $50 savings bond from the Item, and a 1-year subscription to the e-edition of Encyclopedia Britannica. The four runners up will each receive a $50 savings bond from the Item. In addtion, two of the four will receive a 1-year subscription to the e-edition of Encyclopedia Britannica, and two will receive $20 awards from Amazon.com. All five finalists will receive dictionaries.