Charging through the championship word “Madagascar,” Alejandro Caraballo cemented his legacy among the top spellers in Phelps-Clifton Springs School history.
Caraballo finished a 20-plus round grind, outlasting 33 other students, ranging from third to eighth grade to win his fourth straight Midlakes District Spelling Bee. Seventh-grader Graham Wakley took second, while sixth-grader Emmerson Kuhn placed third. Caraballo and Wakley will each represent Midlakes at the Regional Competition in Newark next month; Kuhn will serve as an alternate. Wakley shared the podium behind Caraballo last year.
Caraballo’s historic run started when he was in third grade. He placed on the podium, taking third. Since then, he has held court in the annual spelling competition, winning each contested Bee over the last five years. This will be his final win; eligibility is capped at eighth grade.
This year, he correctly spelled “sentient,” “vociferous,” “puncheon,” and “Madagascar” en route to the win. Caraballo has also steadily improved his finish at the Regional Bee, with hopes of finally making it to the National Bee in Washington, DC.
Last year, Caraballo powered through another bear of a Bee, standing as the most challenging win of his career. In another showdown with Wakley, Caraballo clinched the win with the proper spelling of ‘Fanfic;’ a noun meaning stories involving popular fictional characters that are written by fans and often posted on the Internet. That bee also went 20-plus rounds, and the judges had to revert to a backup word list that was not available to students during preparations. Typically, students receive a study packet to help prepare for the Spelling Bee, and it’s rare the Bee exhausts the preparation packet list.
Coordinator Suzanne Russell, a speech-language pathologist at Midlakes Elementary School commended the students and remained awestruck by Caraballo’s prowess and endurance. Russell and the judges also came prepared for the long haul this year, not needing to go to the supplemental word lists
“We are proud of each one of you for the hard work and commitment you demonstrated,” Russell said to the student body as certificates and bee-themed cupcakes were distributed.
Contested annually at Midlakes, the Spelling Bee helps strengthen students’ knowledge of the English language while working on their listening and speaking skills and other techniques to correctly spell more difficult words throughout the competition.
The Midlakes Spelling Bee is a part of the Scripps National Spelling Bee and is sponsored by Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES. This particular edition is even more meaningful for the 2025 cohort; Scripps National Spelling Bee celebrates their 100th anniversary this year. The original Bee included just nine spellers. Now, millions of students have taken the chance to showcase their skills in hopes of making the National stage in the Nation’s Capital.
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