Fifth-grader takes top spelling bee prize in two divisions

PORTALES — It wasn't the word that made him champion of the Roosevelt County Spelling Bee, but it was the word fifth-grader Garrick Tomlinson kept repeating to his mother over and over again Friday afternoon.

"Two," Garrick kept repeating to his mother, Jackie, in astonishment, looking at his two plaques with an elated expression.

Garrick and his mother both could hardly believe the 10-year-old was walking away from the regional spelling bee not just as the junior division champion but as the senior division champion.

While competing at the spelling bee Friday at the Eastern New Mexico University Music Building, Garrick took the win in the junior division with the word "sultan," a short while later securing the win again in the senior division with the word "hurricane."

Garrick said he competed in a classroom spelling bee once in third grade, but that was his only spelling bee experience before the regional competition on Friday.

He said he studied for the spelling bee for about a month and when it came time, there were words he studied that he was still nervous about.

"I feel like ... awesome," Garrick said, still a little stunned at his victory. "Two plaques — it's (the studying) totally worth it. It was great."

Garrick will represent Roosevelt County in the state spelling bee March 18 in Albuquerque.

Jackie Tomlinson said she was not surprised her son wanted to compete in the spelling bee.

"He's pretty academically with it. He's always been really good at school. He's a straight-A student," she said.

What did surprise her was him also winning the senior division.

"I knew he was going up against a lot older kids in the second division, so I was like, well, those are going to be harder words and that may not be something he's ready for yet," she said. "But then he did it. I just thought it was really awesome."

Jackie said she didn't even know how to spell "haversack," so she thought surely that would be her son's undoing. But she was proven wrong.

Sanjana Chava of Lindsey-Steiner was the runner-up in the junior division while Adrian Leal was the runner-up in the senior division.

"I always enjoy hosting this event," said spelling bee Coordinator Carol Erwin. "Even though it always makes me a little nervous, because it's so hard to see these kids study so hard then miss a word. But I am always impressed with what they're able to do."