Correspondent photo / Sean Barron The top finishers in the 89th annual Regional Spelling Bee on Saturday at Stambaugh Auditorium were, from left, Zachary Shahan of Southington Middle School, runner-up; Phillip Gleason of T.E.A.C.H., third place; Chris Dominick of Struthers Middle, first; Joey Constantine of Lakeview Middle, first; and Makenzie Johnson of Brookfield Middle, fourth. At far left is James M. Ritter of Kent State University at Trumbull, which gave scholarships to the winners.

YOUNGSTOWN — Two key elements that guided Joey Constantine to victory in a longtime local competition were S-U-P-P-O-R-T and C-O-N-F-I-D-E-N-C-E.

“Yesterday, I spelled 1,624 words (from a spelling bee app). It took probably four or five hours,” Joey, a Lakeview Middle School sixth-grader, said.

All he needed, however, was a single word to become one of the two grand champions in Saturday’s 89th annual Regional Spelling Bee at Stambaugh Auditorium.

Sponsoring the competition was 21-WFMJ-TV. Serving as pronouncer was Adam Earnheardt, a professor in Youngstown State University’s Department of Communications.

Students in grades 3 to 8 representing 51 public, private, charter and parochial schools in Mahoning and Trumbull counties took part in the event. All had been champion spellers in their schools’ competitions.

Joey’s winning word was “bursary,” which describes an amount of money given to someone from a university or other organization to allow the person to study in a college or university.

Joey, who finished fourth in his third-grade spelling bee and recalled having come up with the right spelling to “pumpernickel,” thanked his family and a special friend for coaching him during the last few months to prepare for Saturday’s bee.

Also thrilled to take home a first-place finish was Chris Dominick, a Struthers Middle School eighth-grader who correctly spelled “discombobulate,” which means to cause a state of confusion, upset or disorientation.

Chris said his father emailed him a list of words to study and practice, many of which were unfamiliar to him. Chris described his winning word as rather common, but observed that it may be more challenging to spell.

“I have a very big vocabulary,” Chris said, adding, “I won money; money is cool. I was not nervous at all.”

As a result of their first-place finishes, Joey and Chris each were awarded $2,000 scholarships from Kent State University at Trumbull, as well as trophies. They also received an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., where they will represent the Mahoning Valley in the 95th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee during Memorial Day weekend.

By his estimation, Joey’s home is filled with at least 12 dictionaries, so he plans to spend the next two months studying new words and their pronunciations, definitions and roots to prepare for the national bee, he said.

The other top finishers were Makenzie Johnson, a Brookfield Middle School sixth-grader who came in fourth place, and Phillip Gleason, a fifth-grader at T.E.A.C.H., who finished third. Each received $500 scholarships.

The runner-up and recipient of a $1,000 scholarship was Zachary Shahan, a Southington Middle School eighth-grader.

All of the competitors received copies of Merriam-Webster’s 11th Edition Collegiate dictionary, a spelling bee T-shirt, a school champion certificate and other items.

The bee also gave participants an added opportunity to learn the spelling of many words, along with their origins, definitions and parts of speech, organizers said. Also emphasized was the importance of properly using them in sentences.

Serving as the three judges were the Rev. Lewis W. Macklin II, pastor of Holy Trinity Missionary Baptist Church in Youngstown; Mary Kay Earnhart, a retired teacher; and Carol Ryan, who recently retired as office manager for St. Christine Parish in Youngstown.

Also on hand were three checkers who acted as backups to the judges.

Winners

Top finishers in the 89th annual Regional Spelling Bee

Fourth place: Makenzie Johnson of Brookfield Middle School, $500 scholarship

Third place: Phillip Gleason of T.E.A.C.H., $500

Second place: Zachary Shahan of Southington Middle, $1,000

First place: Christopher Dominick of Struthers Middle and Joey Constantine of Lakeview Middle, $2,000

SOURCE: Nina Perkins, organizer