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KALAMAZOO, MI -- Josiah Loehrke, an El Sol Elementary School fifth grader, was the winner of the 2025 Kalamazoo Regional Spelling Bee presented by the Kalamazoo Gazette/MLive on Saturday, March 15.
Josiah won with the word “equivalent” after 11 rounds.
Now, Josiah will represent Kalamazoo County in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland in May. Expenses for the trip will be covered by the Kalamazoo Community Foundation.
Josiah wasn’t expecting to win, he said. To study, he mostly used a spelling bee app and studied before bed, he said.
“I’m just super excited,” Josiah said.
After the win, he was surrounded by family and teachers from El Sol congratulating him and taking photos.
Penelope Bayer, a Milwood Magnet School student, was the runner-up.
Josiah and Penelope were the only spellers still standing after eight rounds. Penelope was eliminated on the word “beseech” in the 10th round, with Josiah clinching it in Round 11 with “equivalent.”
There were 25 students competing — mostly from Kalamazoo Public Schools. Registration for the bee was open to all districts in the county.
Schools hosted their spelling bees with students in grades four through eight. The first- and second-place finishers advanced to Saturday’s regional bee.
Seven spellers made it to the fifth round or further:
Out in Round 5: Jonah Antoniotti, Milwood Magnet SchoolOut in Round 6: Osama Zuhour, Arcadia ElementaryOut in Round 7: Kaja Lewis, King-Westwood Elementary; Eugene Anderson, Linden Grove Middle SchoolOut in Round 8: Lana Sheeran, King-Westwood ElementaryOut in Round 10: Penelope Bayer, Milwood ElementaryWinner: Josiah Loehrke, El Sol Elementary
During the competition, Josiah high-fived the spellers around him who spelled words right and consoled those who made mistakes.
“I wanted to show good sportsmanship,” Josiah said.
Josiah had a tense moment in an earlier round, when the judges said he spelled “manifests” incorrectly, as he had spelled the singular “manifest.” Judges determined the pronunciation was unclear and gave Josiah an alternate word — which he spelled correctly.
“It was very nerve-wracking to watch,” Josiah’s mother Kimberly Loehrke said.
Josiah won El Sol’s schoolwide oral spelling bee after coming in third place on a written spelling test, said Carolina Sanclemente, Josiah’s English and language arts teacher. Sanclemente was in attendance to cheer Josiah on.
Whenever there was free time during class, Josiah would pull out his spelling list and study it, Sanclemente said.
Josiah’s favorite subject is math, he said, but he also loves to read. His favorite genre is graphic novels, he said.
“He loves to read any chance he gets, any type of book,” Sanclemente said.
Kimberly Loehrke said the family goes to the library every week.
“We take home bags and bags of books,” she said.
Josiah said he’s excited to travel to Maryland for the spelling bee. Kimberly Loehrke said she’s also looking forward to trying the coastal foods.
All students in the bee received a T-shirt and a gift bag filled with goodies from local Kalamazoo businesses. The gift bags included snacks from Pop City Popcorn and Confections with Convictions, a hockey puck from the Kalamazoo K-Wings – plus free passes or gifts cards from the Kalamazoo Air Zoo, Revel and Roll, the Kalamazoo Growlers, Kalamazoo College, Airway Fun Center, Red Robin and Airborne Adventure Park.
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