BROWNSTOWN — Three groups of kids competed in the 47th annual Jackson County Fair Spelling Bee on Monday in the pavilion at the fairgrounds.

Every kid that participated walked away with a medal while the first and second places received trophies signifying their accomplishment. There were three separate competitions for third, fourth and fifth graders from across the county who won school spelling bees to earn a spot in the county contest.

The winners were third graders Elliot Lambring, first, and Aki Van Dijk, Seymour-Redding Elementary School, second; fourth graders Bryce Tormoehlen, Lutheran Central School, first, and Liam Halterman, Seymour-Redding Elementary School, second; and fifth graders Cassy Canlas, Seymour Intermediate School, first and Zachary Helwig, Lutheran Central School, second.

For Lambring, this was his first county spelling bee, and he expressed wanting to try it out again next year.

When it got down to the last two participants in each competition, families and friends watched closely as the contestants went back and forth.

To officially claim the first-place title, the speller had to spell two words correctly in a row. If one of them messes up a spelling, it goes to the second participant, giving them the chance to spell the same word and then another word correctly.

Out of all the competitions, the fifth graders held their own for a long time. It was looking like the end for Canlas when she had to pause when spelling the word “unnoticed,” but she pushed through. Her final word that helped her take home the winning title was “biochemistry.”

Although she was nervous, Canlas was thoroughly prepared.

To study, she said she searched fifth-grade spelling bee examples and practiced speaking just like how a contestant speaks in a spelling bee — word, spelling, word. She would say the word out loud, spell it and then repeat the word once more. Mimicking a spelling bee when she studied helped her ease into the real deal.

“I was really used to it,” Canlas said.

Besides becoming a better speller, Canlas gained a lot of confidence through competing in the spelling bee. Being naturally quieted, she said this allowed her to become more grounded — a skill she can carry with her throughout many aspects of her life.

Cell Phone Repair Seymour aka CPR returned to sponsor the event for the second year in a row.

Tanner Belcher, manager of CPR Seymour, said they were asked by the local business that had been sponsoring the spelling bee to take it over.

Belcher said his favorite part of the event is seeing how capable the kids are, spelling words that adults blank on themselves.

“Some of the words I can’t even spell,” he said.

Examples of words the kids were asked to spell include privilege, accuse, survey, kidney, opposite, cauliflower, muscular, foreground, government and prevail.

Brett Kleber with CPR Seymour said she liked seeing the kids’ reactions during the competition.

“The most fun thing is the kids getting excited,” Kleber said.