Fletcher thrilled to be one of 30 left

Harding Middle School student eyes spelling bee finals

STEUBENVILLE -- Isabella Fletcher is one of 30 spellers left in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

By 11 p.m. Sunday, her goal is to be one of 10 or 12 who will be heading to Florida on July 8.

"I've been telling everybody it's crazy to be one of 30 left in the entire country," Fletcher said. "I did not imagine getting this far, I just wanted to get past the preliminaries, so it's pretty amazing that I've gotten this far."

The Harding Middle School student will compete in the semifinal round of the national bee Sunday, beginning at 7 p.m. on ESPN 2.

Fletcher, the daughter of Marlo Fletcher and Jayapal Reddy of Steubenville, advanced through preliminary and quarterfinal rounds earlier this month.

In the quarterfinals, she successfully spelled marmot, correctly identified bombastic as being another word for orotund and then earned her spot in Sunday's semifinals by successfully spelling howel.

She advanced to become one of the 209 spellers in the national bee by winning the Jefferson-Harrison Regional Spelling Bee presented by the Herald-Star in March, correctly spelling blastema for the win.

As the rounds have gone on, Fletcher noted it has gotten harder and she spends countless hours studying to be prepared.

"I study from dawn until dusk," she said with a laugh. "It's so much harder to prepare (deeper into the competition) because you don't know what you're preparing for, it can be any word in existence."

She doesn't take representing the region lightly.

"It's a lot of pressure, I just want to do my best to represent the area the best I can," Fletcher said. "It's also very exciting to know people are watching and supporting me."

Sunday's competition, like the previous rounds of the national bee, will be in a virtual format.

Spellers who remain after this weekend will head to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort, where they will compete in person in the national finals beginning at 8 p.m. on July 8.

(Grimm can be reached at agrimm@heraldstaronline.com)