Middle School Principal Dan Bedette congratulates winner Russell Cunningham and first-runner up Lily Mercovich during the school’s Spelling Bee, December 22 at Byron-Bergen Middle School. Provided photoByron-Bergen’s Russell Cunningham received an outpouring of support from his fellow classmates and teachers after being awarded spelling bee champion, December 22 at the annual Robert Fowler/Byron-Bergen Middle School and Buffalo News Spelling Bee, in association with The Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Cunningham, a seventh-grader at Byron-Bergen Middle School, landed the top honor after ten rounds with 22 other students. He correctly spelled “reciprocate” in the final round of the competition against his opponent, sixth-grader Lily Mercovich.
Russell will complete a standardized written test on February 1, which will determine his participation in the regional spelling bee, the Oral Final for the Buffalo News Spelling Bee, March 4.
