TOP SPELLERS — Francis Kissinger, a fifth-grader at Bishop John King Mussio Elementary School, emerged the winner of the 2026 Jefferson-Harrison County Regional Spelling Bee Saturday at Buckeye North Elementary School. Kissinger will compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., in May. On hand for the presentation of trophies and prizes to the bee’s top 10 finishers, were, from left, front: Kissinger, Brheanna Boyles, a seventh-grader at Buckeye Local Junior High School, who placed second; Samuel Romanowsky, a seventh-grader at Catholic Central High School, third place; Crystal Albright, a seventh-grader at Harrison Central Junior-Senior High School; and Julia Greenly, a fifth-grader with the Heart of Mary Homeschool network; and back, Ron Sismondo, director of curriculum and professional development at the Jefferson County Educational Service Center and the bee’s coordinator; Bentley Miller, a fifth-grader at John Gregg Elementary School; Ben Gorby, a fifth-grader at Indian Creek Middle School; Caraline Cooper, a fifth-grader at Toronto Elementary School; and Jerome Owen, a fifth-grader at Bishop John King Mussio Elementary School; and Ross Gallabrese, senior writer for the Herald-Star, which presented the bee. Lucas Wood, a seventh-grader at Harrison Central Junior-Senior High School, placed 10th. -- Warren Scott

BRILLIANT — The winner of the 2026 Jefferson-Harrison County Regional Spelling Bee, held Saturday at Buckeye Elementary North, correctly spelled “superficiality,” a word that means a lack of thoroughness or serious thought.

But that cannot be said of Francis Kissinger, the fifth-grader at Bishop John King Mussio Elementary School who will be going on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee after correctly spelling that word and “genealogical,” a word meaning the study of family history and the tracing of family lineage.

Asked how it felt to be the regional spelling bee champion, Kissinger said, “It feels really good. I almost fainted.”

The son of Brian and Courtney Kissinger of Steubenville, he said he prepared for the bee by having his father quiz him from a list of words provided to all of the participants and by studying a book covering patterns of spelling for words from various cultures.

Among prizes won by Kissinger is a six-night stay at the J.W. Marriott in Washington, D.C., to participate in the Scripps National Bee, May 24-30.

He also will receive $500 for travel and miscellaneous expenses for the trip and a trophy from the Jefferson County Educational Service Center, which teamed with the Herald-Star to coordinate the competition; a one-year subscription to the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary online; and a one-year subscription to Britannica Online Premium from Encyclopedia Britannica.

Kissinger’s school will receive a one-year subscription to News-O-Matic, a digital news platform that offers daily, age-appropriate articles about current events for grades K-8.

Ross Gallabrese, senior writer for the Herald-Star and a long-time collaborator with the Jefferson County ESC for the event, noted 109 words were spelled during the bee, which ran six rounds and one hour and 26 minutes.

He applauded the efforts of the 33 students who advanced to the regional event after being top finishers in bees at their schools.

Gallabrese added that among the most important people involved were the parents, family members, teachers and “everyone who has worked with these kids.”

Among the many words spelled correctly by the bee’s participants were: Castor, hipsterism, speciation, cognizant, dopamine and immortality.

Rounding out the regional bee’s top 10 finishers were:

• Brheanna Boyles, a seventh-grader at Buckeye Local Junior High School, who placed second. Boyles was the regional bee’s 2024 winner and runner-up in last year’s competition.

She received a trophy, a $150 gift and Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition, from the Jefferson County ESC.

• Samuel Romanowsky, a seventh-grader at Catholic Central High School, who placed third. He received a trophy, a $50 gift and Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Thesaurus from the Jefferson County ESC.

• Crystal Albright, a seventh-grader at Harrison Central Junior-Senior High School; who placed fourth.

• Julia Greenly, a fifth-grader with the Heart of Mary Homeschool network, who placed fifth.

Albright and Greenly received a trophy and Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Thesaurus from the Jefferson County ESC and a $25 gift from Dr. Paul Macdonald and the center.

• Bentley Miller, a fifth-grader at John Gregg Elementary School, who placed sixth.

• Ben Gorby, a fifth-grader at Indian Creek Middle School, who placed seventh.

• Caraline Cooper, a fifth-grader at Toronto Elementary School, who placed eighth.

• Jerome Owen, a fifth-grader at Bishop John King Mussio Elementary School, who placed ninth.

• Lucas Wood, a seventh-grader at Harrison Central Junior-Senior High School, who placed 10th.

Miller, Gorby, Cooper, Owen and Wood each received a $25 gift from Dr. Paul Macdonald and the center.

All of the participants received a spelling bee bobblehead courtesy of M&M Hardware and a book bag donated by PNC Bank.

Ron Sismondo, director of curriculum and development at the Jefferson County ESC and coordinator of the regional bee, noted it was the 41st year for the event and the 14th year it was hosted by Buckeye North Elementary School.

In addition to thanking coordinators and other staff at the participating schools, he acknowledged the contest’s many sponsors.

They were: S.T.A.R.T. LLC, Ascent Resources, Utica LLC; Cardinal Operation Company, the Mingo Knights of Columbus’ Columbian Club, Gary W. Cain Realty and Auctioneers, State Farm Insurance agent Casie Johnson, Dr. Paul Macdonald, Tri-State Financial Services, PNC Bank, M&M Hardware, the Ohio Lottery Commission and the Herald-Star.