BEDFORD — After three rounds of competition Tuesday night, Joshua Matlock, a seventh-grader at Mitchell Junior High School, was named champion of the 2026 WBIW Lawrence County Spelling Bee presented by the Lawrence County Health Department by correctly spelling “crevice” in the final round.
The annual bee, held at the Schafer Auditorium, featured top student spellers from schools across Lawrence County. In the championship round, Matlock competed against four other finalists. When the other four competitors misspelled their words, and Matlock spelled his word correctly, he secured the title after three total rounds of competition:
For his victory, Matlock won a Papa John’s pizza party for his homeroom class, $100, a trophy, a certificate, and a commemorative T-shirt.
Because multiple competitors remained after the championship rounds, organizers conducted a spell-off to determine the second- and third-place finishers. That tiebreaker required three additional rounds. Jayvan Brock, Clint Moran, Grant Tong, and Calvin Trezona competed in the spell-off.
Calvin Trezona, an eighth grader from Springville Elementary School, finished as runner-up. Grant Tong, a sixth grader from Shawswick Elementary School, was named the third-place finisher.
The spelling bee began the previous evening with a preliminary competition, then concluded on Tuesday with the championship round. The annual event celebrates academic excellence and word mastery among Lawrence County students.
The event was made possible through the support of:
- The Lawrence County Health Department
- American Rental Home Furnishings
- Bedford Federal Savings Bank
- Papa John’s of Bedford
- Hoosier Hills Credit Union
- Golden Corral
- Thomas Insurance Services
- Gerkin Construction
- Ivy Tech Community College
- Lawrence County Community Foundation
- Big O Tires of Bedford
