Glen Lake seventh grader Mark Malocha fared best among seven Leelanau County students who competed Saturday in the regional spelling bee in Traverse City.

Malocha, the son of Mark and Vikki Malocha of Maple City, was among the final eight competitors before he was eliminated. He was nearly ousted earlier in the bee when he spelled a word “live” rather than “lithe.”

However, because the sentence given to him was not explicit enough, bee coordinator Maia Conway ruled that Malocha could continue.

The top-8 finish was a thrill for his parents, who tensed with anticipation each time he came to the microphone and then heaved a sigh of relief as he reached the next round.

“I never would have thought he could do so well,” his mother said. “It just goes to show you that you can expect more from kids with ‘labels.’”

Malocha, a seventh grader, was an infant when he was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a development condition related to autism. “Emotions are hard for him to handle, his mother said.

From a very young age, his mother said he was able to compute the minutes in a day or the months in someone’s life. He’s also taking a freshman math class even though he’s only 12. Vikki Malocha said that age-appropriate behavior has been an issue in the past, which was another reason she was so pleased with his
demeanor on stage.

“He used to do little jigs or act out,” she said. “It was great to see him act appropriately on stage … giving other spellers a ‘thumbs up’ when they did well.”

As a third grader, he took three different type of medication, but is down to just one today.

“We’re very proud of him,” she said.

Also progressing late into the bee, were Suttons Bay’s Forest Jarvis and Nicholas Collins, who won the Leelanau County bee earlier this year. Lizzie Vana of Leland was eliminated earlier in the competition as were Glen Lake’s Grace Hubbell and Alicia Glazier, and Jarvis’ younger sister, Morgan.

Traverse City West Junior High student Wyatt McDonnell of Traverse City won the spelling bee by correctly spelling the word “basilica.” He and a parent will travel to Washington, D.C. in May when he represents northern Michigan in the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee.

The Traverse City Record Eagle sponsored the regional spelling bee. The Leelanau Enterprise sponsored the bee for Leelanau County.