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<p>PLAINS TWP. &#8212; Sometimes all it takes is a single letter.</p><p>That was the case for two young men Sunday, as the final two contestants spelled it out for a chance to gain entry into the Scripps National Spelling Bee later this spring.</p><p>The Times Leader Media Group and The Medicine Shoppe sponsored the 2018 Times Leader/Scripps Spelling Bee at the Woodlands Inn, welcoming 15 students between the ages of 10 and 14 from schools across the area.</p><p>Abhinav Palle, a 13-year-old from Abington Heights Middle School, won the regional bee when his last remaining opponent missed spelling a word correctly by one letter, and Palle followed by spelling &#8220;de facto&#8221; correctly. He advances to the national bee in Washington, D.C., in the last week in May.</p><p>It was the 34th year that the Times Leader has sponsored the regional bee, said reporter and spelling bee judge Mary Therese Biebel.</p><p>&#8220;Reading and spelling and a love of language is what we&#8217;re all about,&#8221; she said, adding that the paper wishes to encourage children to learn how to read and spell.</p><p>In all, the spellers went through 19 rounds until a winner was declared.</p><p>All students passed through the initial round, reciting words like &#8220;tragic&#8221; and &#8220;haversack.&#8221; The second round knocked out four contestants with words such as &#8220;threshold&#8221; and &#8220;contraband,&#8221; with all remaining spellers holding steady in the third and fourth rounds.</p><p>Two more spellers had missteps with words in the fifth round, and a particularly deceiving German word in round eight, &#8220;wagnerian&#8221; &#8211; pronounced vognerian &#8211; brought the group down to five.</p><p>By the 10th round, only three remained. While each would earn a trophy, only one speller would be able to grace the stage in Washington, D.C.</p><p>Jessie Miller, a 14-year-old Shavertown resident and student at Wyoming Seminary Lower School placed third, leaving the final two contestants.</p><p>Palle and 10-year-old Wilkes-Barre Academy student Aditya Panikkath took each other on letter-for-letter from round 11, mastering words such as &#8220;empanada&#8221; and &#8220;pistachio&#8221; with ease and causing the judges to move onto more difficult words until the fumble of a single letter in round 18.</p><p>Palle explained that he has been working on his spelling for years.</p><p>&#8220;I did it for two years in the school spelling bee, but I never won,&#8221; he said of past attempts. &#8220;This is my first year at regionals.&#8221;</p><p>Palle said he has been working on his spelling by reading more books and having his parents quiz him. He said he&#8217;ll continue working to perfect his spelling for the national contest, and wants to study more Latin roots so he can better understand and spell the words.</p><p>After the contest, Biebel explained that the Times Leader is proud to help shine a spotlight on children who excel in academics while also providing an opportunity to work on other educational and social skills, such as public speaking.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Abhinav Palle, 13 of Abington Heights Middle School, waits for his turn on Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_ttl032618spellingbee-3-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Abhinav Palle, 13 of Abington Heights Middle School, waits for his turn on Sunday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_ttl032618spellingbee-8-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Ben Carsell and Alyssa Evans wait their turn while Abhinav Palle of Abington Heights Middle School spells a word at the 2018 Times Leader/Scripps Spelling Bee at the Woodlands Inn in Plains Township on Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_ttl032618spellingbee-8-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Ben Carsell and Alyssa Evans wait their turn while Abhinav Palle of Abington Heights Middle School spells a word at the 2018 Times Leader/Scripps Spelling Bee at the Woodlands Inn in Plains Township on Sunday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_ttl032618spellingbee-5-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dominic Bernardi, 12, of Pittston Area Middle School, takes a moment to think over his answer. Dominic Bernardi, 12, of Pittston Area Middle School, takes a moment to think over his answer. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_ttl032618spellingbee-5-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Dominic Bernardi, 12, of Pittston Area Middle School, takes a moment to think over his answer. Dominic Bernardi, 12, of Pittston Area Middle School, takes a moment to think over his answer. </caption2><photoCredit2>Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_ttl032618spellingbee-6-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Jevahnie Hernandez, 10, of Heights-Murray Elementary School, smiles to the judges and crowd after spelling her first word correctly. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_ttl032618spellingbee-6-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Jevahnie Hernandez, 10, of Heights-Murray Elementary School, smiles to the judges and crowd after spelling her first word correctly. </caption3><photoCredit3>Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_ttl032618spellingbee-2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Pitured are the top three finishes in the Times Leader/Scripps Spelling Bee. From left, Aditya Panikkath, second place; Abhinav Palle, winner; and Jessie Miller, third place. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_ttl032618spellingbee-2-1.jpg</photo4><caption4>Pitured are the top three finishes in the Times Leader/Scripps Spelling Bee. From left, Aditya Panikkath, second place; Abhinav Palle, winner; and Jessie Miller, third place. </caption4><photoCredit4>Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_logo.for_.spelling.bee_-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_logo.for_.spelling.bee_-2.jpg</photo5><caption5></caption5><photoCredit5>Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader </photoCredit5></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_ttl032618spellingbee-4-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Jessie Miller, 14 of Wyoming Seminary Lower School, takes a moment to think about the correct spelling of a word she was given. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo6>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_ttl032618spellingbee-4-1.jpg</photo6><caption6>Jessie Miller, 14 of Wyoming Seminary Lower School, takes a moment to think about the correct spelling of a word she was given. </caption6><photoCredit6>Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader </photoCredit6></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_ttl032618spellingbee-1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">2018 Spelling Bee Winners 
Second Place Aditya Panikkath, 10 of Wilkes-Barre, First Place Abhinav Palle, 13 of South Abington Township and Third Place Jessie Miller, 14 of Shavertown.
Amanda Hrycyna|For Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo7>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_ttl032618spellingbee-1-1.jpg</photo7><caption7>2018 Spelling Bee Winners 
Second Place Aditya Panikkath, 10 of Wilkes-Barre, First Place Abhinav Palle, 13 of South Abington Township and Third Place Jessie Miller, 14 of Shavertown.
Amanda Hrycyna|For Times Leader</caption7><photoCredit7>Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader </photoCredit7></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Marcella Kester</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Abington Heights student earns trip to Washington with spelling bee win