“Definitely unexpected,” the excited 12-year-old Beaver Local student said.

As the Columbiana County Spelling Bee champion, she’ll travel to Washington, D.C. to represent the county as a speller in the historic 100th Scripps National Spelling Bee May 27-29.

The daughter of Steven Bone and Heather Moser, this was her second year in the county bee.

“I used the Scripps spelling bee app on my phone to practice,” she said, noting that she’ll use the app again to prepare for the national competition, along with the provided list of words.

Top finishers at the 2025 Columbiana County Spelling Bee Saturday, from left, Beaver Local seventh grader Maureen Bone, champion; East Liverpool fifth-grader Joseph Duke, first runner-up; and United eighth grader Lucy Raymond, second runner-up. (Photo by Jimmy Joe Savage)

“I expected to do well, but not this well,” she said.

In the fifth round, she correctly spelled “uvula” then had to correctly spell “octonocular” in the sixth round to win. Some of her previous words included “dicey,” “prism,” “bromide,” and “griefful.”

“I’m so excited for her. I’m so proud of her,” Bone’s mother, Heather, said, adding that Maureen reads a lot and devours books.

Her dad, Steven, added, “very, very proud of her accomplishments both in school and out of school. Just a super kid.”

The family vacationed in Washington, D.C. before, but this trip, Maureen said she wants to visit the National Archives and library.

Macie Brant, Leetonia

East Liverpool fifth-grader Joseph Duke, 11, earned first runner-up during a spell-off with United eighth grader Lucy Raymond, 14, who earned second-runner up. They both missed their words in the fifth round, with Raymond missing on “birria” and Duke missing on “dalmatian,” requiring them to spell again to determine their final standings.

Duke correctly spelled “neonatology” while Raymond missed on “ludicrous.” In previous rounds, some of Duke’s correctly spelled words included “ufology,” “disneyfication,” “palatial,” and “remnants.” Some of Raymond’s previous correctly spelled words included “chinook,” “flexitarian,” “cymbals,” and “whirlybird.”

Duke is the son of Jason and Elizabeth Duke and said he wants to come back to the county bee. He said, “I just studied real hard at home.”

Raymond is the daughter of Jason and Lorraine Raymond. She was previously in the county bee when she was in the fifth grade. She said she studied a little bit this time around, “but I didn’t think I would get this far.”

This was the 66th annual Columbiana County Spelling Bee featuring 41 spellers who earned their spot after placing at their school district spelling bees. The bee is co-sponsored by Columbiana County’s newspapers, the Morning Journal, Salem News and The Review, along with the Columbiana County Educational Service Center which coordinates the event.

Cal Harper, Salem

“We appreciate all of the hard work that all the district spelling bee coordinators put into this. It’s always exciting to see the newspapers and the district winners making it to the next round,” ESC Superintendent Marie Williams said.

She said “we appreciate the Columbiana County newspapers’ support in sponsoring this and having a part in it.”

She offered thanks to Publisher Tammie McIntosh of the Morning Journal, Salem News and The Review, along with staff writer Mary Ann Greier and photographer Jimmy Joe Savage, and ESC staff members who helped out.

Williams mentioned all the different activities the ESC has been involved with recently, such as the robotics competition, academic challenge and the spelling bee that bring out the students’ passion and interest.

Her advice for spellers was to take their time, ask for the word to be used in a sentence and ask for a definition. During her welcome, she said that first national spelling bee 100 years ago had just nine spellers. Last year, there were 245.

Eliana Forbes, Southern Local

Spellers could also ask for the word to be pronounced again, ask if there’s an alternate pronunciation and request the language of origin. Spelling Bee Coordinator and Pronouncer Lisa Mistovich conducted a practice round first so each speller could introduce themselves and spell a word. If a word was spelled wrong during the bee, a bell sounded. Judges included Columbiana Public Library Director Kathy Bennett, Leetonia Public Library Youth Services Destiny French and Appeals Judge Salem Public Library Director Brad Stephens.

Bone won the champion plaque, along with a one-year subscription to Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online donated by Merriam-Webster, the Samuel Louis Sugarman Award donated by Jay Sugarman, a one-year subscription to Britannica Online Premium donated by Encyclopedia Britannica and an invitation to compete in the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., including a six-night stay at the Gaylord National Resort for the champion and one parent, room and tax paid by the newspapers.

First runner-up Duke and second runner-up Raymond each won a plaque.

The traveling plaque returns to Beaver Local after being with Salem last year. Beaver Local Middle School Principal Jake Walgate said Beaver Local bee coordinator Matt Newman does a great job with the bee. He also said it’s awesome to see the school represented in such a positive way.

Former back-to-back two-time Columbiana County Spelling Bee Champion for 2022 and 2023 Shaylynn Dennis, also of Beaver Local, was there at the Salem High School auditorium to cheer on the new champion and share some tips about the national bee.

Seth Jackson, Leetonia

To learn more about the national spelling bee, visit spellingbee.com.

Sophia Bender, St. Paul

Colin Baker, United

Sylus Bryan, Southern Local

Ethan Cole, Salem

McKaylynn Cox, Salem

Brock Davis, Wellsville

Natalie Devine, Salem

Xaven Barr, Leetonia

Trevor Bails, Salem

Brandon Armstrong, East Liverpool

Priya Moser, Lisbon

Piper Montgomery, Columbiana

Ryker Mattern, Beaver Local

Ruby Marhsall, United

Joey Kindsvatter, East Liverpool

Giana Lanave, Beaver Local

John Leyman, Lisbon

Bee coordinator and pronouncer Lisa Mistovich

Isabella Lucas, Beaver Local

Owen Mahoney, East Palestine

ESC Supterintendent Marie Williams

Skyler Yhelka, Leetonia

Aila Winner, Columbiana

Henry Ward, East Palestine

Kingsley Wang, Columbiana

Teagan Triplett, Lisbon

Vicki Salmons, East Liverpool

Jozee Rummell, East Liverpool

Participants in the 2025 Columbiana County Spelling Bee await the start of the tournament Saturday at Salem High School. (Photo by Jimmy Joe Savage)

Evangeline Prah, Beaver Local

Benjamin Rawson, Wellsville

Lucy Raymond, United

Noah Rigby, Salem

Top finishers at the 2025 Columbiana County Spelling Bee Saturday, from left, Beaver Local seventh grader Maureen Bone, champion; East Liverpool fifth-grader Joseph Duke, first runner-up; and United eighth grader Lucy Raymond, second runner-up. (Photo by Jimmy Joe Savage)