Sixth-grader makes 'Wagnerian' conquest

With last year's winner Abhinav Venkat of Bull Run Middle School behind her having missed 'mikado,' Marie Mach of Graham Park Middle School spells 'Wagnerian' as she clinches the win at the Prince William County 30th Spelling Bee at Godwin Middle School in Dale City on Friday.

By: Amanda Stewart | Inside NoVA
Published: March 15, 2008

"Wow" was all 12-year-old Marie Mach could say after the 30th annual Prince William County Spell-ing Bee Friday night.

After 24 grueling rounds, the Graham Park Middle School sixth-grader emerged as the top speller of the night when she correctly spelled "Wagnerian," an adjective describing works characteristic of composer Richard Wagner.

"I'm just thinking 'Wow,' " said Marie, who defeated 14 other spellers in the bee. "I was very nervous and I'm really just very glad I won and am going to the National Spelling Bee."

Her father, Rob Mach, said the end of the spelling bee was "an immense relief."

"There were a lot of very smart kids up there," he said. "It was the battle royale of spelling to-night."

Last year's county spelling bee champion, Bull Run Middle School eighth-grader Abhinav Venkat, finished second in this year's bee.

He didn't miss a beat until the last round, when he misspelled "mikado," meaning the emperor of Japan. He spelled it "makado."

"I guess she just pronounced it different than I thought," he said afterward.

The annual bee is co-sponsored by the Bel Air Woman's Club and the Potomac News & Manassas Journal Messenger.

As the local champion, Marie will go on to vie with other national finalists in the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., in May.

Her trip is all-expenses paid by the Potomac News & Manassas Journal Messenger. She also won a Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged from Merriam Webster, a $100 savings bond donated by iStar Financial Chief Executive Officer Jay Sugarman in honor of his father, Samuel Louis Sugarman, a $20 Amazon.com gift certificate, a $100 gift card to Barnes and Noble, donated by the Bel Air Woman's Club, and a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica Online, donated by Encyclopedia Britannica.

As the runner-up, Abhinav will receive Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition from Merriam-Webster, a $20 Amazon.com gift certificate from, a $50 Barnes and Nobel gift card from the Bel Air Woman's Club and a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica Online from Encyclopedia Britan-nica.

Each of the spellers received a trophy from the Potomac News & Manassas Journal Messenger.

Staff writer Amanda Stewart can be reached at 703-878-8014.