After correctly spelling that word last Friday afternoon, Elliott became the winner of the Leavenworth County Spelling Bee.

The bee was sponsored by the Leavenworth Area Retired School Personnel Association and took place at the American Legion Lounge in Leavenworth.

Elliott is a seventh-grader attending Genesis Christian Academy and the son of Gordon and Terri Brest, Tonganoxie.

He said he had some butterflies to overcome during the competition.

“I was kinda nervous the whole time, but when I was spelling, I was really nervous,” he said.

To prepare for the county competition, Elliott said he read and pronounced everything on the list of spelling bee words with the help of his mother.

Despite the work he put in, the words given at the bee were harder than he expected, Elliott said.

That sentiment wasn’t unique to Elliott — program organizer Pricilla LoPresti agreed.

“There were some hard words,” she said, including galleon, impetuous and ambidextrous.

Elliott received a plaque and a $100 savings bond. By winning the county tournament, he’s eligible to compete at the state spelling bee in Topeka on March 25. If he can’t make it, runner up Amy Nelson, a fifth-grader from Eisenhower Elementary School at Fort Leavenworth, will take his place.