Fairfax 8th grader Aliyah Pearce, left, won the Atchison County Spelling Bee February 4, 2025, in Fairfax. Tarkio’s Nadine Henning, second from left, placed second, followed by Fairfax’s Brody Landess, second from right, in third and Tarkio’s Genesis Anaya, right, in fourth. Aliyah and Nadine will be heading to Regionals in St. Joseph, with Brody and Genesis acting as alternates.
Correctly spelling haberdasher and steeped for the win, Fairfax’s Aliyah Pearce became the 2025 Atchison County Spelling Bee champion Tuesday, February 4. She will advance to the regional competition in St. Joseph, where spellers from 14 counties will vie for the chance to eventually make it to the 100th Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Tarkio 6th grader Jerald Goodin was one of the 12 spellers who competed in the 2025 Atchison County Spelling Bee.
Rock Port 6th grader Anthony Masonbrink was one of the 2025 Atchison County Spelling Bee participants.
Even though she’d never heard the word before, Fairfax 8th grader Aliyah Pearce correctly spelled haberdasher, followed by steeped, to win the 2025 Atchison County Spelling Bee February 4 in Fairfax. Tarkio 8th grader Nadine Henning came in second, followed by Fairfax 6th grader Brody Landess in third and Tarkio 5th grader Genesis Anaya in fourth. Pearce and Henning will advance to the regional championship bee, where they will face spellers from 13 other Missouri counties. Landess and Anaya will act as alternates.
Other participants in the Atchison County Spelling Bee were: Fairfax – Lela Wright (7th grader) and Emmett Umbarger (5th grader); Rock Port – Rush Lewis (8th grader), Archer Meyerkorth (7th grader), Anthony Masonbrink (6th grader), and Frank Kroeger (5th grader); and Tarkio – Tory Hogue (7th grader) and Jerald Goodin (6th grader).
