Queen bee

Kerry Filtz (left) placed first and Max Aidala was the runner up as nine students from Sparta Middle School participated in the recent Scripps National Spelling Bee held at the school. Filtz will go on to compete in the semi-finals at William Paterson University. The winner of the semi-finals has a chance to go to the National Spelling Bee, which will be televised on ESPN. (Photo provided)