LEWISTON – Top spellers from 13 counties in Maine will compete in the Maine State Spelling Bee, sponsored and hosted by Trinity Catholic School, on Saturday, March 28.

A national tradition since 1941, Maine nearly missed out on this year’s opportunity to send a student to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. in May. Last year’s state sponsor, the Maine Association of Broadcasters, notified participating schools that it was pulling out of the contest due to cost and time, according to Trinity Catholic School teacher and organizer Jen Poliquin. Trinity then worked out an agreement with Scripps to keep the program going in Maine, she said.

“This is our first time hosting the state bee,” said Poliquin, who has been involved with the program for six years. “But it’s the second year that we’ve hosted the county bee.”

Last month, middle school students from 10 schools participated in the Androscoggin County Spelling Bee at Trinity. Each district or school could send two winners to the county bee. Schools from Kennebec County, which did not have a bee, were invited to participate in the competition.

Seventh-grader Ben Doherty and sixth-grader Jon Tuttle represented Trinity. Tuttle placed first and will advance to the state competition, where one winner will be determined eligible for the national bee. The second place winner was Cora Curtis, Leeds Central School and third place winner was Jake Truman, Gardiner Regional Middle School.