A Middlebury student has won the statewide spelling bee for a second year in a row.
The Vermont Department of Education says Ronan Howlett, a Middlebury Union Middle School student, out-spelled other students from around Vermont on Wednesday at St. Michael’s College in Colchester.
Howlett’s winning word was desultory.
He will head to Washington, D.C., in June in an all-expense-paid trip to participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Emily Ballou of the South Royalton School came in second and third place went to Nicholas Knudsen of the Frederick H. Tuttle School in South Burlington.
The state spelling bee was hosted by the Vermont Agency of Education, the Vermont Principals’ Association, the Vermont Humanities Council and the Burlington Free Press.