SIDELL — Salt Fork Junior High narrowly defeated Bismarck-Henning Junior High to claim the 2026 Commercial-News Vermilion County Regional Office of Education Spelling Contest at Salt Fork Junior High on Wednesday night.
The Salt Fork South squad of Anna Dean, Kisha Tablo, Kent Davis, Levi Bargo and Addisyn Coffman scored 64 points in the competition, while Bismarck-Henning’s team of Adalyn Lomax, Jordan Schaumburg, Sienna Phelps, Nathaniel Gritton, Leah Martin and Peyton Goodner finished with 63 points. Gritton was the only speller with a perfect round in the competition.
Westville Junior High, with a team of Emmett Johnson, Emily Grider, Emerson Fridmanski, River Acord, Carter Roberson and Karlee Starkey, was third, while Hoopeston Area Middle School, with a team of Gideon Gano, Liam Elliott, Leland Finke, Alayna Little, Deacon McCalla and Avery Scharlach was fourth.