photo by: Courtesy of Sarah Hoadley

During a meal with his mother, Sarah Hoadley, in Wichita, Lawrence eighth-grader Eli Cokelet shows off his trophy for winning the Sunflower State Spelling Bee. With the win, he'll get to represent the state of Kansas in the Scripps National Spelling Bee this summer in Washington, D.C.

A Lawrence middle-schooler is set to represent Kansas this summer in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., after outspelling 86 other kids in the state competition.

Eli Cokelet, an eighth-grader at Liberty Memorial Central Middle School, won the Kansas Press Association’s Sunflower State Spelling Bee Saturday at Newman University in Wichita.

“It’s definitely a very exciting experience that I’m going to be able to be in the national bee,” Eli told the Journal-World Monday afternoon. “I think it’s going to be fun, and hopefully not too stressful.”

Eli’s next stop will be a trip to Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Washington for the June 1 national semifinals. Those hoping to tune in and support Eli will be able to watch the bee live on ION Television. Actor LeVar Burton, of “Reading Rainbow” and “Roots” fame, will host the program.

In all the excitement, Eli couldn’t immediately recall his winning word in the state competition when he spoke with the Journal-World on Monday, even though it’d only been a couple of days since he successfully spelled it. That might be because the final rounds came down to the wire.

Eli’s mother, Sarah Hoadley, made the trip to Wichita with him, and she told the Journal-World that Eli and the bee’s runner-up both got their words wrong in two rounds back-to-back; it really could have gone either way, she said.

Then, in the next round, Eli got his word correct and the runner-up — Maggie Turner of Jackson County — missed hers. Eli was given a championship word that he spelled correctly for the win after 17 rounds.

That word, the Journal-World learned Tuesday, was “provender,” or food given to livestock.

Eli said he didn’t do much differently to prepare for the state bee than the county one, which he won with the word “judoka,” which means a person who practices or is an expert in judo. He studied with friends at school during free periods to hone his word knowledge. He may prepare that way for the Scripps bee, too.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Eli Cokelet, of Liberty Memorial Central Middle School, won the 2022 Douglas County Spelling Bee on Saturday, Feb. 5, by correctly spelling “judoka.” Olive Minor, background right, a student at West Middle School, was the 2nd place winner at the event, which was held at Southwest Middle School.

“It’s worked so far, so may as well keep working the way I am,” Eli said. “D.C. should be fun.”

Eli said he was excited to see friends and family who live in the D.C. area.

The accomplishment has, unsurprisingly, been a source of joy for Eli’s parents. Eli’s father, Bradford Cokelet, told the Journal-World that he had been “on pins and needles” during the state bee. Hoadley, for her part, said she felt a lot of pride in Eli’s success and in watching him connect with his peers at the county and state bees.

Eli represented Douglas County in Wichita after winning the Douglas County Spelling Bee in early February. That bee is sponsored by the Journal-World and Ogden Newspapers of Kansas.