Patel wins county spelling bee

Morgan County’s 2011 Spelling Bee winner is Jainik Patel (right), a Hartselle Junior High sixth grader. Riddhi Patel, a seventh grader at Oak Park Middle School in Decatur. | Clif Knight

Jainik Patel, a sixth grader at Hartselle Junior High School, withstood a two-hour battle against 22 other school winners to capture top honors in the 2011 Morgan County Spelling Bee at First United Methodist Church in Decatur Thursday.

He will go on to compete for the state title later this year.

Patel won out over Riddhi Patel, a seventh grader at Oak Park Middle School, after being locked in a tie with her from round 11 to round 69. He got the jump on her after she missed the word “aqueduct” and correctly spelled the next two words, “parabolic” and “boulevard.”

The winner finished fifth in the competition a year ago and the runner-up was competing as a school winner for the third consecutive year.