Published Sunday, March 7, 1999 As students from throughout the Mercer County area waited for The Herald's 11th Annual Spelling Bee to begin, legs were bouncing up and down. As the first spellers took the microphone, other contestants sat in their seats spelling the words to themselves.
With fourth- through sixth-graders competing in the event, the kids adjusted the microphone to their height before they settled in to spell the word. While some were making repeat appearances, others were in the spotlight for the first time as cameras flashed and video cameras caught every move.
In the end, the spellers who provided the most photo ops were sixth-graders Robert Chirila of Hermitage and Daniel Sypolt of Sharon, with Robert winning.
Chairs on stage began to empty as words such as bouillon, distraught and harbinger narrowed the field from 58 to 43 and then to 28. But words such as camaraderie, liaison and hippopotamus proved to be easy.
The final six went round and round challenging each other by conquering words such as baccalaureate and gauche. A fourth-grader, Robert Piston Jr., escaped the spellings of such words and juxtaposition and magnanimous.
"My dad would ask me the words," the 9-year-old from Sharon Christian Academy, Hermitage, said. "The ones I didn't get right, he'd put a little mark beside it and he would come back to it."
And one of those words with the mark beside it - morphine - tripped Robert up.
Parents, grandparents, siblings and friends filled the auditorium at Penn State's Shenango Campus, Sharon. One by one as the children were eliminated, the tears began to flow as they left the stage. The kids were greeted by hugs, smiles and various condolences.
Some of the students spelled the words quickly, or as if they were asking a question. Others asked for the definition each time and then meticulously spelled the word.
Daniel Sypolt sped through the spelling of each word, anxiously leaving his seat for the microphone before his name was called. Conversely, Robert Chirila slowly spelled each word, then respelled the word in his head before officially ending his session by restating the word he had just spelled.
"I was double checking the word," the 10-year-old from Delahunty Elementary School, Hermitage, said.
Before Daniel and Robert knew it, they found themselves caught up in their own maelstrom, a large powerful or violent whirlpool.
Daniel, of Sharon's Case Avenue Elementary School, spelled maelstrom incorrectly, leaving an opening for Robert, who marched up to the microphone, placed a firm grip on it and proceeded to correctly spelled the word.
"I was just so afraid I was going to spell marionette wrong," Robert said of the subsequent word he had to spell correctly to clinch the victory.
But Robert started to spell it slowly, then quickly added the "ette." As he was pronounced the spelling champion, Robert's jaw fell and a bright smile crossed his face as he continued to hold onto the microphone.
The new champion had finished third last year and seventh in 1997. And his dad, Ed Chirila, cleaned out the trunk of the car, "just in case" he continued to improve his performance. Robert received a $100 bond and a computer with a color printer to transport home.
"Every year I try to improve," Robert said. "We were going so long I didn't think it was ever going to end."
Robert and his mom, Ella Chirila, agreed that he is a natural speller, but the pair did study the harder words "every free minute he had," Mrs. Chirila said.
"I don't think these words come easily to anyone," she said.
Robert came a little more prepared this year; his pockets were full of good luck charms, including a coin from crossing the Panama Canal, a poker chip and a watch. All of the items were from his grandfathers.
Erica Wagner, a fifth-grader at Case Elementary, took third place. She made it through spelling bucolic, cuirass and epiphany but was tripped up by ingurgitate.
Each of the spellers received a medal. The top three finishers received savings bonds.
