The 23rd Annual TH Regional Spelling Bee will be held at Clarke College on Saturday, March 13, 2010 in the Jansen Music Hall. Registration will begin at 8:15 a.m. followed by the Spelling Bee at 9:00 a.m. Any questions, please contact Rosemary Maresh at 563.588.3824 or email. Public is welcome to attend.

2008 and 2009 Champion Speller - Quinn Meyer will speak at the March 13 regional spelling bee. He will share his experiences from the National Spelling bee in Washington, D.C.

This year's champion speller will receive:

* All expense paid trip to
Washington D.C
* Webster's Third New International Dictionary (unabridged)
* Plus other items

Regional Finalists

Matthew Barton

Matthew Barton is a 5th grade student at Irving Elementary School where science is his favorite subject as well as his hobby. This 11-year-old lists tacos as his favorite food. He is currently in three advanced groups at school and would someday like to be a doctor. Matthew has one sister and is the son of Trish Barton and Tom Barton.

Kelsey Batteram

Kelsey Batteram attends Holy Ghost/Immaculate Conception School in Kieler, WI, where she is in 8th grade and serves as president of the school’s Student Council. Her favorite subject is American history. Kelsey really admires Mrs. Muller, her 8th grade science teacher. Her hobbies include reading, playing volleyball and skiing. She especially loves to be around animals and hopes someday to become a veterinarian. Ice cream and Chicken Alfredo top her favorite foods’ list. She and her parents, Reid and Mary Carol Batteram, live in rural Hazel Green. She has two older siblings.

Shanyn Behrens

Shanyn Behrens is in 6th grade at Fennimore Elementary School where she especially loves her reading class. Shanyn would someday like to be a journalist, writer and/or teacher. Her hero is Leigh Mills, a resident of southwestern Wisconsin, who, in Shanyn’s estimation, is an outstanding journalist. A student with many interests, her hobbies include being on Facebook, reading, playing volleyball and softball, playing percussion, singing and practicing tap and jazz dance. She loves to eat shish-kabobs. She has an older sister and brother and is the daughter of Ed and Lisa Behrens.

Sam Berning

Sam Berning, a 7th grader at Mazzuchelli Catholic Middle School, has an older brother who competed in the TH Bee in 2008. Math is his favorite subject. Pele is Sam’s idol; he would someday love to be a professional soccer player. He enjoys piano and drama and eating Snickers. He and his four siblings are the children of Keith and Lugene Berning. Sam says an interesting fact about himself is that he’s never tried green eggs and ham!

Nolan Carroll

Nolan Carroll is in 8th grade at St. Mary School in Platteville where he enjoys his math and science classes. He would like to become a pharmacist. Nolan has two younger siblings and he likes sports. Cheesecake is his favorite thing to eat. His dad is his hero. Nolan is the son of Joe and Annette Carroll.

Mike Donovan

Mike Donovan is a 7th grade student at St. Mary School in Platteville. He especially enjoys his math class and he enjoys reading and karate in his spare time. His grandpa is his hero. His favorite food is pizza but he’s also a big fan of cookies! He would someday like to be an inventor. Mike has three siblings and is the son of Tim and Anne Donovan.

Keagan Duster

This will be Keagan Duster’s third attempt to reign as Champion Speller in the TH Bee. He is in 7th grade at East Dubuque Junior High where he especially enjoys his world history class. The oldest of four children, Keagan likes skiing, playing and watching basketball and listening to music. He would someday like to be a doctor. His favorite food is barbequed wings and Nate Robinson is his hero. His parents are Brian and Stacey Duster.

Abby Faulhaber

Abby Faulhaber most enjoys her science class at East Dubuque Junior High where she is in 8th grade. Her older brother is her hero. Abby hasn’t made up her mind as to what she would like to be when she is grown – but she does like spaghetti! She reads a lot and also plays the snare drum and draws in her spare time. She is the daughter of Billie Lee and Nathan Zenner.

Claire Johll

Claire Johll attends Cascade Junior/Senior High School. She is in 7th grade and prefers study hall! Both chocolate and chicken top her list of favorite foods. Her older brother, Michael, is her hero. In her spare time, Claire enjoys playing video games, watching tv, sewing, writing and reading. She’s considering becoming an obstetrician someday. Every summer, she and her seven siblings travel by car for vacation with their parents, Ronda Jasper and Brian Jasper.

Madison Lapke

Madison Lapke, who is in 7th grade, goes to Andrew School. She enjoys science and would someday like to be an OB nurse. A real fan of barrel-racer, Linsey Sears, Madison is in the Wisconsin Junior High Rodeo where she competes in barrel and pole racing, goat tying and ribbon roping. She also plays basketball and is involved in 4-H and music/band. Her very favorite food is blueberry pie! Madison has two brothers and a sister; they are the children of Bonnie Hoffman and Tom Lapke and live in rural Bellevue.

Claire Lemery

Claire Lemery attends Galena Middle School where math is her favorite subject. This 8th grader enjoys soccer, skiing and reading in her spare time. Her mom is her hero and her favorite food is a cheeseburger. She aspires to be a radiologist. Claire and her two younger siblings are the children of Ross and Stephanie Lemery.

Neil Lichter

Repeat TH Bee spelling contestant,Neil McCallum Lichter, is named after his maternal great-grandfather and is the most recent in an almost continuous namesake line traced back more than 300 years. This 8th grader attends Maquoketa Middle School where he especially enjoys language arts. One of three children, his older sister competed in the TH Bee in 2006 and 2008. His hobby is filmmaking and someday he would like to be a film director. He claims mangoes are his favorite food! Neil is the son of Curt and Rebecca Lichter. Barack Obama is his hero.

Kelsey Maier

This 13-year-old, Kelsey Maier, enjoys her art classes at Roosevelt Middle School where she is in 8th grade. She loves chocolate and spends her free time reading, playing volleyball, swimming, drawing and making pottery. Kelsey and her younger sister are the daughters of Pete and Sally Maier. She says she’s the only person in her family with blonde hair!

Saafia Masoom

Saafia Masoom comes from a line of spellers! She and her older sister competed in last year’s TH Bee and her oldest sister competed in the TH Bee in both 2003 and 2004. This 6th grader’s favorite subject is math. She attends Platteville Middle School and enjoys reading and writing in her spare time. Her favorite food is a special Bengali dish called Chicken Biryani. She’s considering becoming a pharmacist. Her mom is her hero. Saafia is the youngest daughter of Abulkhair and Fahmida Masoom.

Sumaia Masoom

Sumaia Masoom is part of a spelling family! Both she and her younger sister were in last year’s TH Bee and her older sister competed in the TH Bee in 2003 and 2004. This 8th grader, who attends Platteville Middle School, says geometry is her favorite subject. Her hobbies include reading and writing. Peter Jennings is her hero. Khichuri, a Bengali spiced rice dish, is her favorite food. She would like to someday be a lawyer. Sumaia’s parents are Abulkhair and Fahmida Masoom.

Vivian Medithi

This 12-year old competed in last year’s TH Bee also. Vivian Medithi attends Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School where he is in 8th grade. A language arts aficionado, Vivian enjoys writing, playing Guitar Hero, reading, eating tiramisu and spending time with his friends. Orson Scott Cord, the writer of Ender’s Game, is his hero. He aspires to be a quantum physicist. He is the oldest of the four children of Vijay and Pushpa Medithi.

Megan Meyer

Megan Meyer is in 8th grade at Seton Catholic School and lives in Holy Cross with her four younger siblings and her parents, Duane and Kori Meyer. Her favorite subject is language arts and she enjoys reading, swimming and playing piano. She loves pizza – and horses! She’s thinking of becoming an optometrist. Taylor Swift and her parents are her heroes.

Sally Pegram

Sally Pegram has many hobbies including reading, writing songs and stories, playing football and softball, singing and acting. She has even played quarterback for the Boscobel Middle School football team where she is in 7th grade. Reading is her favorite subject in school. She loves calzones and hopes to someday become a singer/actor. She and her three sisters are the children of Stan and Sarah Pegram.

Kristen Savary

Thirteen-year-old Kristen Savary is in 8th grade at Roosevelt Middle School. Reading is her favorite subject and she hopes to become a teacher. Her favorite food is ice cream. Her parents, John and Annette Savary, are her heroes. In her spare time she likes to play soccer and to jump rope and she performs with the Jazzy Jumpers. She has one older brother.

Mitchell Shallwani

Mitchell Shallwani is in 8th grade at Riverdale Middle School in Muscoda, WI. Math is his favorite subject and he wants to be a chemist. He enjoys eating spaghetti and playing magic tricks. Mitchell has three younger siblings and lives in Avoca with his parents, Kristy and John Swinehart. His mom is his hero.

Cassidy Shubatt

This will be Cassidy Shubatt’s third attempt to become the Champion Speller for the TH Bee. This 7th grader attends Mazzuchelli Catholic Middle School in Dubuque where English is her favorite subject. Her hobbies include singing and performing. Teaching is at the top of her list for a career. Her mom is her hero. She loves KitKat candy bars. Cassidy’s claim to fame is that she shook President Obama’s hand! She has three younger siblings and her parents are Amy Gilligan and Michael Shubatt.

Michael Smith

Michael Smith enjoys math at Cascade Junior/Senior High School where he is in 8th grade. Ice cream tops the list as his favorite food. His hobbies include playing video games, bowling and swimming and someday he would like to be a teacher. His dad is his hero. Michael participated in a quiz bowl and received the MVP award! He has one younger brother; his parents are Jim and Susie Smith.

Mitchell Steinhauser

An 8th grade student at George Washington Middle School, Mitchell Steinhauser’s favorite subject is science and he would someday like to be a doctor. His hero is Albert Einstein, and like Albert, Mitch is a world traveler. His hobbies include playing the piano, reading and traveling as well as eating Chinese cuisine. He has one younger brother and his parents are Bob and Cindy Steinhauser.

Grace Tsui

Grace Tsui is in 5th grade at Eisenhower Elementary School, where, not surprisingly, spelling is her favorite subject. Both she and her older sister were in last year’s TH Bee. Pizza is Grace’s favorite food. She’s good at piano, clarinet and swimming and hopes to someday become a doctor. Her parents are Hua Mao Tsui and Ling Yuan.

Lela Udry

Ten-year-old Lela Udry is in 5th grade at Our Lady of Guadalupe School in Dubuque. Reading is her favorite subject and she can read 100 – 150 pages an hour! She loves eating cheesecake. Horseback riding, reading and playing Wii fill up her spare time. She’s considering someday becoming an actor. She has a little sister and her parents are Kirsten Lillegard Udry and Larry Udry.

Alicia Urbain

Alicia Urbain is in 8th grade at Andrew School where science is her favorite class. Her dad is her hero and sports are her hobby. Alicia has celiac disease and would someday like to be a doctor. Popcorn is her favorite food. She and her two younger sisters are the children of Todd and Heather Urbain.

Spencer Westhoff

Spencer Westhoff lives in Dyersville and goes to Beckman High School. This 8th grader likes social studies best. Although he’s undecided about what he would like to be someday, for now he stays very busy listening to his iPod and playing trumpet, baritone and French horn, as well as playing video games and baseball. Josh Peck is his hero and mac & cheese is his fave food. His older sister competed in the TH Bee in 2008. This 13-year-old already knows how to weld! Spencer has five brothers and sisters and is the son of Cory and Michele Westhoff.