It took 11 rounds of competition before a winner was crowned “Queen Bee” at the Salem School Division spelling bee.
G.W. Carver Elementary fifth grader Abigail Rude carefully spelled V-E-N-D-E-T-T-A to become Salem’s 2026 spelling bee champion.
Rude competed against winners from the city’s three other elementary schools, along with students from all three grade levels at Andrew Lewis Middle School. She even faced off against her older sister, seventh grader Allison Rude.
Rude now advances to the regional spelling bee on March 28 at Radford University. Her alternate will be Andrew Lewis Middle sixth grader Beth Neilson, this year’s runner-up.
This year’s bee also featured a familiar voice calling the words - 10 News Anchor Abbie Coleman, a Salem graduate herself.