Hot Springs student wins Sanders County Spelling Bee after 24 rounds
TRACY SCOTT Valley Press | Valley Press-Mineral Independent | UPDATED 5 days, 13 hours AGO
The 39th Annual Sanders County Spelling Bee Winners, from left, Hot Springs eighth-grader Keawe Ilac, Noxon fifth-grader Daphe Gunn, and Dixon sixth-grader Khonner Phillips. (Tracy Scott/Valley Press)
Sanders County Spelling Bee winner Keawe Ilac spells the winning word "alchemy." (Tracy Scott/Valley Press)
Daphne Gunn of Noxon in deep thought over spelling her word correctly. (Tracy Scott/Valley Press)
After 24 intense rounds of competition, Keawe Ilac, an eighth grader from Hot Springs, claimed first place at this year’s Sanders County Spelling Bee.
Ilac narrowly defeated fifth-grader Daphne Gunn of Noxon in a spirited head-to-head battle that lasted nearly 30 minutes.
The final rounds began with Gunn correctly spelling "compassionate," while Ilac answered with "depots."
From there, pronouncer Jeff Wheeler challenged the pair with increasingly difficult words as the audience watched the suspense build. The contest concluded when Ilac correctly spelled "bodega" and "alchemy" to secure the championship title.
Ilac, who competed as an alternate for Hot Springs, said he did little preparation before the event.
“I looked over the word packet on the way here. That’s about it. It’s kind of crazy. I didn’t think I would make it this far,” he said.
Third place went to Khonner Phillips, a sixth grader from Dixon, who successfully spelled "septum" and "apostrophe."
Ilac will now represent Sanders County at the 61st Annual Treasure State Spelling Bee, scheduled for Saturday, March 21 at 1 p.m. in Bozeman. The event will feature the top 60 spellers in grades 4-8 from public and private schools across Montana. The winner of that competition will advance to the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., where contestants compete for $50,000 in cash and additional prizes.
This year marks the 39th anniversary of the Sanders County Spelling Bee, sponsored by The Sanders County Ledger and First Security Bank. It remains the longest privately funded spelling bee in the state.
Jeff Wheeler returned for his second year as pronouncer. Judges Karen Dwyer and Joanne Burk have each volunteered for more than 10 years, and Alisa Garcia returned for her second year. The Bee Director is Annie Wooden, owner of the Sanders County Ledger.
Sanders County Spelling Bee winner Keawe Ilac spells the winning word "alchemy." (Tracy Scott/Valley Press)
Daphne Gunn of Noxon in deep thought over spelling her word correctly. (Tracy Scott/Valley Press)