photo by: Journal-World File Photo

Raintree Montessori School eighth-grader Asher Wolfe is pictured Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019, at the Douglas County Spelling Bee. Asher took third place at the statewide spelling bee Saturday, March 9, 2019.

Asher Wolfe, an eighth-grader at Raintree Montessori School, finished third in the Sunflower State Spelling Bee, which took place Saturday in Wichita.

All of the first-place winners of countywide spelling bees in the state’s 105 counties were eligible to compete in the state bee on the campus of Newman University, said Emily Bradbury, executive director of the Kansas Press Association, which sponsored the state bee.

Asher won the Douglas County Spelling Bee last month, defeating Samad Farhat, an eighth-grader at Southwest Middle School, in a contest that lasted a record-breaking 30 rounds.