After a heart-wrenching loss in the 2005 State Spell Bowl Competition, the Garrett Spell Team has taken it upon themselves to make sure that the job gets done this year in style.

Granted, second place is not exactly considered a “loss” so to speak, and to enhance the situation, they actually tied for first place last year to only be announced as the second place team in the tie-breaker rule. But still, we all know how the old cliché goes, “Second place is the first loser.”

Shortly after the final results were tallied, it became very apparent that disappointment would be an understatement in describing the morale of the team.

Since early August, even before school got underway, the spell team has been hard at work under the direction of Coach Nancy Feagler. She is contending for an impressive eighteen straight years of making it to the State Spell Bowl Competition, and has pulled out many remarkable victories on the activities biggest stage.

Her most famous tactic of getting her students mentally ready for the pressing competitions is providing food and snacks at each venue the spell team visits. With over 3,500 of the most prestigious words in the dictionary to memorize, the spell team really has a lot of work to accomplish in a short amount of time.

So far, the spell team has continued the trend of second place finishes in each of their regular season competitions, but not to worry as this has always been the case in years past due to the antagonistically acclaimed Penn High School.

Thankfully, they are not in Garrett’s division when it comes to the state meet because that competition is based on school size. GHS always has the best opportunity to run the table in the most elevated spell bowl match.

Monday, October 16, 2006 is the area competition which determines whether or not a team qualifies for the state finals. Only six teams in each of the four divisions make the cut, so this is obviously not a foregone conclusion as to breezing their way into state.

With savvy veterans leading this year’s squad, it should be no surprise to see our classmates and coach back at Purdue University trying to fill a void that lays heavy in their hearts from last year’s inadequate efforts.