The boys held out against the girls Saturday morning by taking the top three places in the 2019 Bell County Spelling Bee at the Temple College Pavilion.
Newton Tran, 13, an eighth-grader at Academy Middle School received the first-place $100 prize and traveling trophy from Mike Hicks, circulation manager of the Temple Daily Telegram, which produces the Spelling Bee. Jeb Rine, 13, an eighth-grader at Salado Junior High School, won the second-place plaque and $50. Shrey Gupta, 13, a seventh-grader at North Belton Middle School, took the third-place plaque and $25.