photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Maci Perrins, Langston Hughes Elementary student, shows off her 2023 Douglas County Spelling Bee Championship trophy on Feb. 11, 2023.

The winning word was “porcelain” — as in the white ceramic — but the winner of the 2023 Douglas County Spelling Bee had a definite blue-blood tint to her.

Maci Perrins, a 10-year old fourth grader from Lawrence’s Langston Hughes Elementary, became the third child of Erik and Kristi Perrins to win the Douglas County bee. In late March, she’ll compete for a state title and try to follow in the footsteps of her brother Ethan, who qualified for the national spelling bee in 2014. Sister Bryn won the county bee in 2016.

Maci gave a pair of thumbs up and pumped her fists a bit as the announcer read the championship word “porcelain.” Maci knew she could spell that word, and it brought to an end a tense competition that took 14 rounds to decide.

“I felt like I was shaking the whole time,” Maci said.

Not only was she one of the youngest competitors in the competition, which was open to winners at all elementary and middle schools in the county, she also was facing off with one of the oldest — and tallest. Eudora Middle School’s Elijah Clobes finished as the runner-up in the competition. He’s an eighth grader — and probably a good 2 feet taller than his final round competitor.

“I kept having to pull the microphone all the way down,” Maci said.

Erik and Kristi Perrins said that they were very proud of Maci and that their family’s yearslong success in the spelling bee came in part because the family just really enjoys the activity. But Kristi said success does help breed success.

“I think the younger ones have seen how much work it actually takes to compete in a bee,” Kristi Perrins said. “It is not just luck.”

Maci said she practiced about one and a half hours per day for the spelling bee, which this year was held at Billy Mills Middle School and was sponsored and organized by the Lawrence Journal-World. Competitors in the sanctioned event are vying for the chance to compete at the state bee in Wichita in late March and the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Maryland in late May.

Despite all the practice, Maci said there still was plenty of worry when competition day arrived.

“When I first came in the room and I saw all these older people and I was one of the youngest ones there, and I just didn’t have that much confidence,” Maci said.

But by the end of the day, she had taken a lesson away from all of it.

“Hard work pays off,” she said.

The runner-up, Clobes, understands that sentiment. He previously tied for second place in the event two years ago, when it was held online due to the pandemic. This is his final year of eligibility in the event, and he said he now can provide a good piece of advice to future participants.

“Practice with your mom,” he said. “That’s the secret.”

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Runner-up Elijah Clobes, Eudora Middle School, and champion Maci Perrins compete in the final round of the Douglas County Spelling Bee on Feb. 11, 2023.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

The final 10 competitors compete at the Douglas County Spelling Bee on Feb. 11, 2023.