Highlands Middle School Student Competes in the Scripps National Spelling Bee

By Mary Casey-Sturk 

Fardel. According to Merriam-Webster, fardel has two meanings: 1) a bundle of things fashioned together for convenient handling, and 2) a burden, something that is carried.

It’s also the word that propelled George Weghorst to victory in the Scripps Northern Kentucky/Indiana Regional Bee in March. However, as important as the word fardel was to George this year, it’s not his favorite word, according to George, “It’s Wiesbaden, because that’s the word I won the fourth-grade spelling bee with.”  This was also his first school spelling bee. For the occasion, he wore a lucky black sweatshirt given to him by his older brother Henry. That shirt still fits, and George continues to wear it at competitions. 

Since the local win, George stayed busy prepping for National Bee as well as being a special guest at FC Cincinnati Kids’ Day in April (participating in a pre-match ceremony) and walking in the Findlay Market Opening Day Parade. As his dad Jeff referred to him, he’s a “spellebrity”. Just prior to the National Bee, George appeared on local media, including an interview with WCPO.

Heading to Washington, DC

George, along with his parents, Jeff and Rosemary, and his siblings, Henry and Charlotte, headed to Washington, DC for the National Bee in late May. Fun fact: this is the Bee’s 100^th year and the winning trophy has been made at Cincinnati’s Rookwood Pottery since 2019. As part of the anniversary celebration, Rookwood made a ceramic medallion for all the participants. 

While they kept busy with Bee business, there was also some fun. George shared earlier what he was looking forward to doing on his first trip to Washington, DC, “I have never been to Washington! Fortunately, as part of Bee Week, I will get to go on a Trolley Tour and see a lot of the major sights like the Capital, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial. One fun activity is that on the first day of Bee Week they have a Memorial Day Picnic for everybody at the Nationals Field, where the Washington Nationals play.”  

George also shared another way he wanted to spend time at the National Bee, “While in Washington, I also want to spend some time meeting other spellers from around the country, making friends and just getting to know them.”

While spelling keeps him grounded, you can also find George enjoying roller coasters. His current favorite is the VelociCoaster at Universal Islands of Adventure in Florida. George also plays baseball each Spring, with catcher as his preferred position, plays drums in the HMS Band and volunteers at his church.

The ABC’s of Preparation

For a school spelling bee, the list of words to study is around 450. For Regional competitions, that list grows to 4,000! Word Club is an app from Scripps that provides the word list. “I create a list of words I have the most difficulty with and put in extra time studying them.”

George shares some tips for prepping for bees. “Do not try to study for the Bee at the last minute, but instead, study a bit every day to let the words lock into your memory.” Adding, “Practice a lot so that your confidence increases, and you’re less nervous.” Sound advice, indeed. 

Bee Time

The Scripps Spelling Bee starts with 11 million competitors. Of those, 243 students made it to nationals in Washington, D.C. and participated in the 2025 Spelling Bee May 27-30. 

George successfully spelled “Estrepe” to advance past Round 1, and he also correctly answered a vocabulary definition question for the word “foible” in Round 2. For Round 3, spellers completed an incredibly challenging written test. While George didn’t make the threshold to advance onto the next round, he finished tied for 100th in the country, a fitting and impressive end given that this is also the 100^th anniversary of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.  

Shares George, “It was a fun, interactive challenge with students from across the United States, and even other countries.  I got to meet many spellers, including 40+ previous national champions, and I also learned a lot.  It was a really great experience, very fun since I had watched the Bee on TV for many years, and I was finally there!”