Libby is hosting the Lincoln County Spelling Bee Thursday, Feb. 19, at the Maki Theater in Libby.

Competition begins at 1 p.m. Students in grades four through eight are eligible to participate in this annual event.

According to county Superintendent of Schools, participating institutions must be registered with the Scripps National Spelling Bee organization to participate in the Treasure State Spelling Bee. In addition, Scripps has implemented a registration fee for all Montana schools wishing to compete at the state and national level.

Practice words are available to any student, whether they are from a registered school or not at www.myspellit.com. Competitors will also find a “My Spell It” test link on the Scripps website so that spellers can practice randomly selected words.

Public, private and home schools are holding local contests to choose representatives for the county Spelling Bee. If the winner of the Lincoln County Spelling Bee is from a school that is registered with the Scripps National Spelling Bee, they will qualify to represent Lincoln County at the 2026 Treasure State Bee at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 21, at the Strand Union Building at Montana State University in Bozeman.

Local competitors from Libby and Troy elementary schools will include first and second place finishers. If a student can not participate, the third place finisher will take their place.

At Libby Elementary School, Owen Teisberg was the fourth-grade winner while Ivy Hanley was second and Faith Baca was third.

In the fifth grade, Ethaniel Stufflebeam was the winner with Emerson Spencer taking second and Owen Gilmore taking third.

Cash Vincent claimed first place in sixth grade with Samson Skranak claiming second and Tatum Hall finishing third.

For Troy, fifth grade students Aubrey Wilson and Laramie Davis each qualified while fourth grade students Tucker Kamenzind and Olivia Warrington also made it to the county competition.

Overall, Wilson was first, Kamenzind was second, Davis was third and Warrington was fourth.

    Fifth grade student Ethaniel Stufflebeam and proud teacher Jessica Brewington show off Stufflebeam's certificate for winning the Libby Elementary School Spelling Bee. (Courtesy photo)
  

    Sixth grade student Cash Vincent and teacher Tyler Brittain proudly show off Vincent's certificate for winning the Libby Elementary School Spelling Bee. (Courtesy photo)