C.A. Gray Junior High School eighth grader Joshua Doile, left, battled 12 other students for the title and went head to head with runner-up, Williams Middle School sixth grader Jonah Hagin, right, in the last few rounds.

The Colquitt County Schools Spelling Bee held on Feb. 10 is a preliminary to the GAE District Nine Spelling Bee, The State of Georgia Spelling Bee, and the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Other contestants in the bee were Yuliana Carmenaty, Cox Elementary; Gracie Kimbrell, Doerun Elementary; Yadhira Alvarez, Funston Elementary; Eugenia Guevara-Rodriguez, GEAR; Esmy Gonzalez, Hamilton Elementary; Ezequiel Coronada, Norman Park Elementary; Perla Alvarado-Lopez, Odom Elementary; Zyhire Carver, Okapilco Elementary; Fabian Chavez, Stringfellow Elementary; Keith Alvarez, Sunset Elementary; and Ava Brooks, R.B. Wright Elementary.