The fourth time proved to be the charm for Rowena Cresswell-Blickley.
The 13-year-old seventh grade student from Blue Mountain Middle School correctly spelled orthochromatic in the 15th round of the 2025 Schuylkill County Regional Spelling Bee on Saturday morning to advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May.
This year was Cresswell-Blickley’s fourth time competing in the countywide Spelling Bee. She’d twice finished in third place (in fourth and sixth grades) and ninth as a fifth grader.
On Saturday at DHH Lengel Middle School Auditorium in Pottsville, Cresswell-Blickley outlasted two other spellers for seven edge-of-your-seat rounds to claim her first championship.
Jeffrey Salcedo, of Mahanoy Area Elementary, and Riley Jordan, of DHH Lengel Middle School, finished as runners-up to Cresswell-Blickley, all three going toe-to-toe in the final rounds.
Cresswell-Blickley correctly spelled ‘genocidal’ to advance to her championship word in the 15th round, when she meticulously spelled her way through orthochromatic, a term used in photography.
When she heard her championship word, Cresswell-Blickley told The Canary after the Bee, “I was like ‘uh-oh’. So, for ‘ortho’, the first part, I was like it’s going to be an ‘A’ or an ‘O’ at the end.”
She asked to have the word repeated several times before beginning her spelling of the clinching word.
“I almost forgot to say the ‘R’ in ‘-chromatic’ … I stopped for a second. I really hope I don’t mess this one up,” she explained of her inner-thoughts as she spelled her way through the winning word.
As she heard the tone to indicate she’d spelled the word correctly, Cresswell-Blickley shook with excitement on stage.
Afterward, still emotional, she said, “Kind of insane … I did not expect it at all. I was rehearsing in my bathroom. I’m kind of baffled. I’m astonished right now. I did not think I’d make it here.”
To celebrate Saturday’s big win, Cresswell-Blickley said she’s going to celebrate with a trip to Dunkin’ and “hopefully a K-pop album.”
Preparing for the Spelling Bee
Spelling runs in the family for this year’s champion. Her father, Chris Blickley, is a previous Spelling Bee competitor. He never got as far as his daughter did on Saturday though.
And that lineage only gets you so far. A few days prior to Saturday’s Bee, Cresswell-Blickley said she missed school. While at home, she searched the internet for a way to prepare for today’s competition. That search resulted in her using the Word Club app.
During that practice with the app, she actually got a word that showed up for her on Saturday, ‘agave’, in Round 4.
Practicing with her “lovely coach,” Stephanie Gaddy, also helped, Cresswell-Blickley said.
The champion said her biggest supporters throughout the Bee prep process were her parents, including her mother, Jillian Cresswell, and coach.
“My mom … she’s always there for me,” she said.
Representing Schuylkill County
Cresswell-Blickley said she’s looking forward to her upcoming trip to the Scripps National Spelling Bee because it gives her a chance to travel with her father.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “It’s really interesting to go and represent my school, Blue Mountain Middle School, on a national stage.”
The Scripps National Spelling Bee takes place in Washington, D.C., from May 27-29.
Rowena Cresswell-Blickley’s Championship Spelling Words
- Round 1: adsum
- Round 2: enviable
- Round 3: flexitarian
- Round 4: agave
- Round 5: caboose
- Round 6: grossing
- Round 7: discourse
- Round 8: vocalist
- Round 9: daffodil
- Round 10: basset
- Round 11: cipherdom
- Round 12: peremptorily
- Round 14: genocidal
- Round 15: orthochromatic
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