Holley fifth-grader Kristina Martin is a stellar speller. She placed first at the Regional Spelling Bee held in Newfane on March 15. This is the second year Kristina has won the competition in which top spellers in fourth- and fifth-grade from 15 area schools compete. Kristina said she practices a lot with the help of her mom. "My mom gives me the worlds and I learn to write them first, then we highlight the ones I misspelled and practice them," she said. To qualify for the competition, students compete at the classroom level, then in a school spelling bee. The top three spellers go on to compete at Newfane. Kristina is the daughter of Clara and Jeff Martin of Holley.