Landon Tak, left, and Sophie Howie share a laugh after competing for first place in the seventh-grade Highland Hills Middle School Spelling Bee on Wednesday afternoon. One of 15 contestants, Howie won the contest in the 22 round after Tak misspelled the word "villain" and she correctly spelled it and successfully spelled "heredity" to seal her victory. She will move on to the Floyd County Spelling Bee in February along with fifth-grader Adam Hynes, sixth-grader Taylor Coats and eighth-grader Karli Coleman. Staff photo by Christopher Fryer