Lauren Holsapple. an eighth-grade home-schooled student eliminated distractions by closing her eyes when she spelled at the Columbia Missourian Regional Spelling Bee. After spelling "pneumonectomy" correctly she opened her eyes to see and hear the cheers from the audience. She said she finds competing "exhilarating and nauseating at the same time."

Content credit: Elena Cruz, Columbia Missourian

Photo credit: Meiying Wu, Columbia Missourian