By Associated Press
Pelham, AL – A 13-year-old eighth-grade student from DeKalb County has been crowned Alabama's best speller.
Allison Black of Ider won the Alabama Spelling Bee at Oak Mountain High School Saturday. The victory came a year after she finished as the first runner-up in the statewide competition.
Black will represent the state at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. this summer. The first runner-up was Patrick Huang of Calhoun County. Sophie Williams of Montgomery County was second runner-up.
Black won the contest when she correctly spelled the word "disparage."
The contestants included 59 students who had won their school and county spelling bees.