News: 194th Word is the Charm for Thornbugh ... Again! Homeschooler Wins Spelling Bee for 2nd Straight Year

(March 15, 2013) - Luke Thornburgh, a seventh-grader from the Loudoun Homeschool Association, won the 31st Annual Loudoun County Regional Spelling Bee on Thursday, March 14th, at Stone Bridge High School.

This is the second straight year Luke has won the title. And as it did last year, his victory came on the 194th word.


The winning word this year was “debenture.” Debenture is defined as “a document that either creates a debt or acknowledges it, and it is a debt without collateral.”

The runner-up for the spelling title was Liliya Petrosyan, a sixth-grader from Belmont Ridge Middle School. Liliya and Luke each missed two words during rounds six, seven and eight, often by one letter. As round nine began, both contestants were obviously nervous. “Any possibility of two champions or can we only send one?” Luke asked as he stepped to the microphone for round nine of the competition. (He spelled correctly on that round and won the bee in round 10.)

Luke Thornburgh moves on to represent Loudoun County at the Scripps National Spelling Bee from May 26th to June 1st in Washington, D.C. The two other finalists in the Loudoun bee were Omkar Bhalerao, a fifth-grader from Horizon Elementary, and Kelsey Sheridan, an eighth-grader from Sterling Middle School.

The spelling bee started at 6:36 p.m. with Henry David Sierra Velasquez, a fifth-grader from Guilford Elementary, being asked to spell “poinsettia.” The last word was spelled three hours and 10 minutes later.

It took three rounds to trim the initial field of 105 spellers, all of whom were school champions, to 20. There were only four spellers left for the fourth round.

Woodgrove High School Principal Sam Shipp was the pronouncer for the event. Sherri Simmons, the assistant principal of Douglass School, was the head judge. Other judges were Dr. Clark Bowers, the principal of Arcola Elementary, and Frances Hazel Reid Elementary Assistant Principal Ellen McGraw. Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) English/Language Arts Supervisor Dr. Michele Schmidt-Moore coordinated the 31st Annual Loudoun County Regional Spelling Bee.

In addition to the trip to the National Spelling Bee, Luke Thornburgh received a Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, the official reference of the Scripps National Spelling Bee; a $25 Amazon.com gift certificate, donated by LCPS; the Samuel Louis Sugarman Award certificate for a savings bond, donated by Jay Sugarman, chairman and CEO of iStar Financial; a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica Online for Kids, donated by Encyclopedia Britannica; and a trophy, donated by LCPS.

Liliya Petrosyan received a $20 Amazon.com gift certificate, donated LCPS; a medal donated by LCPS; a Spelling Game by Uno, donated by LCPS.

All finalists received a $10 Amazon.com gift certificate; a Spelling Game by Uno; and a spelling bee medal donated by LCPS.

All spellers received a certificate commemorating participation in the Loudoun County Regional Spelling Bee, donated by LPCS and a Loudoun County Regional Spelling Bee pin.