Eighth grader wins spelling bee again

Belmont Middle eighth grader repeats as Gaston County Schools’ spelling bee champion

Eighth grader Paul Sayegh listened carefully as the final word was announced. He spelled “alchemy” correctly and won the Gaston County Schools Spelling Bee for the second year in a row.

Sayegh, a student at Belmont Middle School, competed against 35 other middle school students.  This year, each middle school was allowed to select its top three spellers to take part in the district-level competition, making the field especially strong.

Finishing as runner-up was Lawrence Martin of Cramerton Middle School. Martin previously won the district spelling bee as a sixth grader, making this year’s event a rematch between two experienced competitors.

With the Carolina Panthers Regional Spelling Bee presented by Bank of America set for March 1, Sayegh is already back to studying. Last year, he finished in the top 15 at regionals. This year, he hopes to place in the top four to earn a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

To prepare, Sayegh uses the Word Club app and studies with his dad.

“I use the Word Club to study words,” he said. “My dad will quiz me. We start learning the words from A to Z. He marks the ones I miss, and we review them later.”

Sayegh says preparation is about more than memorizing words. He focuses on understanding different pronunciations and spellings.

“There are many different pronunciations and spellings of words,” he said. “You have to take your time – ask for the definition and ask to have the word used in a sentence.”

Here is a list of our school-level spelling bee participants for 2025-2026:

• Belmont Middle School
  • Ranchan Chahil
  • Williams Sanchez-Rodriguez
  • Paul Sayegh (winner)
• Bessemer City Middle School
  • Cassidy Allen
  • Jade Chandler
  • Kendall McDonald
• John Chavis Middle School
  • Annabella Little
  • Juliauna Nathe
  • Anya Tonkonog
• Cramerton Middle School
  • Lara Forstinger
  • Arlie Hill
  • Lawrence Martin (Runner-up)
• W.C. Friday Middle School
  • Oriolis Guerrero Tejeda
  • Mackenzie Leming
  • Anichka Subeldia
• Gaston Virtual Academy
  • Jesiah Chambers
  • Solomon Gizaw
• W.P. Grier Middle School
  • Rayne Stewart
  • Aaron Vaszquez
  • Carter Wallace
• Holbrook Middle School
  • Juan Deras
  • Kevin Homesombath
  • Serenity Hendren
• Mount Holly Middle School
  • Jackson Kim
  • Caleb McElveen
  • Jordan Vu
• Southwest Middle School 
  • Micah Cook
  • Kiley Mayes
  • Aeryanna Soto
• Stanley Middle School
  • Cooper Rash
  • Marley Oates
  • Walter Throneburg
• York Chester Middle School
  • Miya Degree Stokes
  • Keyla Diaz
  • Alaysia Smith