Martin Meylin Middle School held its annual spelling bee virtually on Dec. 8. Teachers determined the top spellers through materials from the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Preston Schonour, eighth grade, won first place, with eighth-grader Anna Horner and seventh-grader Kayla Downing tying for second place and eighth-grader Saaketh Vemuri placing third. Julianna Fry, sixth grade, was the alternate.

Between Jan. 20 and 24, Martin Meylin's team took a written test to qualify for the WITF Central PA Spelling Bee. Julianna took the place of Anna, who had other obligations, for the qualifying test.

WITF announced the 33 finalists, including Saaketh, on Jan. 26. Saaketh and the other finalists will advance to the Grand Championship Spelling Bee on Saturday, Feb. 27. The virtual event will be broadcast on WITF-TV and livestreamed at http://www.witf.org/watch.