It came down to the spelling of a tall southeast Asia tree known for its hard wood.

In the end, Superior seventh-grader Abigail Wheeler was able to correctly spell “teak”, the tree in question.

After 17 grueling rounds of competition, Wheeler’s correct spelling enabled her to win the Superior schools spelling bee and advance to the county-wide spelling bee later this month.

“The bee was a real marathon and is currently our longest school bee yet,” said Superior fifth grade teacher Angie Hopwood, who along with Chelsea Nygaard coordinated the annual event last week in the Superior Elementary school gym.

In winning the school title, Wheeler edged out Superior sixth-grader Makenzie Reum. The two finalists, along with the top four finishers from grades five through eight will now test their spelling skills and knowledge against other qualifiers from throughout Mineral County.

That contest will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18 in the Superior Elementary gymnasium.

Others spellers who earned the right to advance to the county finals are: 8th grade: Logan Turner and Anaisa Awbery: 7th grade (along with Wheeler): Caelen Pittsley, Addi Martin and Bailey Hansen: 6th grade (including Reum): Perri Jasper, Lane DiGiando and Ivy Turner: and 5th grade: Truman Traeder, Carson Toivonen, Karina Pearce and Liam Wheeler.