The last time Dowagiac Middle School student Martha Schaller went head-to-head against a competitor from Edwardsburg in the final rounds of the Cass County Spelling Bee two years ago, she and her opponent went back and forth for nearly 30 minutes before the bee was declared a tie — for the first time in the events history.

On Friday, Schaller once again stood among the final two during the 2017 spelling bee, opposed by another Eddie, eighth-grade student Elizabeth Nass.

At first, it appeared that history was repeating itself, as the two continued to successfully nail word after word without fault, even after exhausting the first word list prepared by the bee’s staff.

However, the Dowagiac eighth grader was able to capitalize on her opponent’s mistake on the word “contiguous” by spelling the word correctly herself, before sealing the deal — and another first-place victory — by correctly spelling “chivalrous.”

“It feels really good,” Schaller said about her victory, while proudly clutching her trophy. “Edwardsburg has always been our biggest rival.”

Schaller’s victory capped off a big day for Chieftain spellers at Friday’s bee, once again organized by Lewis Cass ISD. Dowagiac students managed to capture the most amount of points during team and individual competitions, beating out students from Edwardsburg, Cassopolis and Marcellus schools.

Schaller — who tied for fifth-place in last year’s competition — said her goal this year was to make it back to the top in her last year of eligibility for the competition. She and her fellow spellers once again spent hours preparing for the bee, both inside and outside the classroom, she said.

Schaller was joined on stage during the competition by her younger sister, fifth-grade student Laura, who placed just outside the top three in this year’s individual competition.

“She needs to carry on my legacy,” the elder sister joked.

Dowagiac students also took home first place in three of the six team competitions, winning the fourth, sixth and eighth grade divisions.

Full results are as follows:

Individual competition, fifth through eighth grades

First: Martha Schaller, Dowagiac

Second: Elizabeth Nass, Edwardsburg

Third: Edriana Madiam, Marcellus

 

Individual competition, fourth grade

First: Mackenzie Boyer, Edwardsburg

Second: Alexis Lewis, Dowagiac

Third: Isaiah Mix, Dowagiac

 

Team, fourth grade

First: Dowagiac/Edwardsburg

Second: Cassopolis

Third: Marcellus

 

Team, fifth grade

First: Edwardsburg

Second: Dowagiac

Third: Cassopolis

Fourth: Marcellus

 

Team, sixth grade

First: Dowagiac

Second: Edwardsburg

Third: Marcellus

Fourth: Cassopolis

 

Team, seventh grade

First: Edwardsburg

Second: Cassopolis

Third: Dowagiac

 

Team, eighth grade

First: Dowagiac

Second: Edwardsburg

Third: Marcellus

Fourth: Cassopolis