Quint Karlsson outlasted 26 other school level spellers on Saturday, March 8, 2025, to capture the title at the 37th annual Anne Arundel County Spelling Bee.
Quint correctly spelled the word "hierurgical" in the seventh round to win the championship for the second consecutive year. Gideon Smith of Marley Middle School and Adrian Allen of Chesapeake Science Point Public Charter School finished second and third, respectively after an exciting "spell off" to complete the winner's circle.
The Anne Arundel County Spelling Bee is presented annually by the Anne Arundel County Public Schools Office of Secondary Reading, English, & Integrated Literacy. This year’s presenting sponsors were Educational Systems Federal Credit Union. The event co-sponsors were Development Facilitators, Inc. (DFI), M&T Bank, and Horace Mann. This year’s event sponsors were National Teacher Association, Ricoh, and Whiting Turner.
Quint will represent Anne Arundel County at the 100th celebration of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. in May.
There were plenty of prizes for the county’s top spellers, including monetary awards from Educational Systems Federal Credit Union as well as reference books and gift items from various donors including: Park Books in Severna Park, Wegmans of Waugh Chapel, Anne Arundel Community College, Watermark Cruises, Mission Escape Waugh Chapel, SkateZone, Horizon Cinemas Glen Burnie, Compass Rose Theaters Annapolis, Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts.
Also competing in this year’s AACPS Countywide Spelling Bee were:
Benjamin (Ben) Luca, Annapolis Middle School
Gwendolyn Ray-Dulany, Arundel Middle School
Emma Lacey, Brooklyn Park Middle School
Sophia Paulenich, Central Middle School
Sarah Rosello, Chesapeake Bay Middle School
Justin Portillo-Rodriguez, Corkran Middle School
Isabel Doran , Homeschool
Nirvana Tiwarri, Indian Creek School
Bach Ngo, Lindale Middle School
Abdulai (AJ) Jalloh, MacArthur Middle School
Gianna Sorondo , Magothy River Middle School
Arman Muhammad, Meade Middle School
Charlotte Sampson, Monarch Global Academy
Oliver Jeffries, Northeast Middle School
Melina Tlemsani, Old Mill Middle School North
Dominion Ajayi, Old Mill Middle School South
Maggie Song, St. Martin's Lutheran School
Adrian Weisman, St. Paul’s Lutheran School
Jordan Erzen , School of the Incarnation
Ammon Harman, Severn River Middle School
Waters Kurek, Severn School
Victoria Akinremi, Severna Park Middle School
Kiara Shultz, Southern Middle School
Axel Portillo Rivera , Wiley H. Bates Middle School
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is a not-for-profit educational promotion sponsored by The E.W. Scripps Company in conjunction with businesses and community organizations around the world. Each sponsor organizes a spelling bee program in its community with the cooperation of area school officials: private, charter, parochial, public, and home schools.