Oliver Plager wins Pearl City Elementary School spelling bee

PEARL CITY — Hudson Voss and Oliver Pager battled it out last week for the top spot in the Pearl City Elementary School’s annual Spelling Bee for students in grades 1-4.

The contest was held in the school’s library with winners from each classroom competing against each other.

“All of our students competed very well as the competition eventually revealed two competitors: Hudson Voss and Oliver Plager,” said Pearl City Elementary Principal Brent Chrisman. “The volley that ensued between these two went on a dozen or more times back and forth as the words were being read. Both Hudson and Oliver handled the pressure very well, smiled, laughed and looked at each other frequently during the competition.”

The anxiety level in the crowd of parents grew as both contestants spelled words and moved on as parents exhaled, gasped, smiled at each other, and then applauded, Chrisman said.

“However, it would be Oliver Plager that would spell the last word correctly and be awarded the 2023 Elementary Spelling Bee Champion!,” Chrisman said. “Congratulations to all of our competitors and an extra shout out to Hudson and our champion Oliver. Great job!

Other students who also participated in this year’s event were: Kambry Kruse, Griffin McPeek, Oakley Miller, Gannon Koser, Lillian Yoeman, Samantha Sanchez, Clara Kempel, Daatin Dinderman, Brooklyn Voegeli, Dalia Cervantes, Juan Ramos, Tate Tessendorf, Rylen Hofmaster, and Beckett Pauley.