Mateen Sharif, 11, plans to hit the books for nationals

Over the course of five hours of tough competition, 100 students mulled word origins, wrote invisible words with their fingers and chose letters

Mateen Sharif, a 6th grader from the Guilderland Central School District, talks with reporters after his win.

Paul Capuano, a home-schooled student, talks with a relative during a break in the competition.

Linda Rudnick, assistant superintendent for elementary education at the City School District of Albany, before speaking with students at the start of the bee.

Mateen Sharif, just after learning he had won the Capital Region Spelling Bee.

carefully as they sparred for the title of champion at the 2011 Capital Region Spelling Bee, held Feb. 9.

In the end, Mateen Sharif, a sixth grader from the Guilderland Central School District, took the top honor by correctly spelling "pecuniary," which means "consisting of or pertaining to money." After nailing the championship-winning word, Sharif smiled for the first time since the start of the bee.

Sharif was one of 100 talented spellers from area public and private schools in 11 counties who won local bees in their home districts to move on to competition at the regional bee, held at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady. The students hailed from the following counties: Albany, Columbia, Greene, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Ulster, Warren and Washington.

"Just by making it here, you are all winners," said Kathryn Gerbino, Capital Region Spelling Bee Chairperson and Capital Region BOCES Assistant District Superintendent for Instruction, to the spellers. "You should all be proud of such an extraordinary accomplishment."

As spelling bee champion, Sharif receives an all-expense paid trip with a chaperone to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. in May; a laptop/home computer donated by Hannaford Supermarkets; $200 U.S. Savings Bond donated by the Times Union and the Upper Hudson Library System; Webster’s Third New International Dictionary; the Samuel L. Sugarman Award, a $100 U.S. Savings Bond; Amazon.com $40 gift certificate; one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica Online donated by Encyclopedia Britannica; and a special gift pack from Proctors Theater.

Brandon Brijlall, a seventh grader from Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons School, took second place after a narrow miss on the spelling of the word "corollary."

Noah Pappas, an eighth grader in the Bethlehem Central School District, came in third. Guilderland Central School District  seventh grader Bill Dong placed fourth, and home-schooled seventh grade student Paul Capuano took fifth.

View the full spelling bee participant list. [PDF]

Linda Rudnick, assistant superintendent for elementary education at the City School District of Albany, served as the bee’s pronouncer. Tim Burke of Upper Hudson Library System, Margaret DiGiulio of the City School District of Albany and Jay Jochnowitz of the Times Union served as judges.

“The regional spelling bee is an exciting event that recognizes the scholarship and dedication of students throughout our region,” Gerbino said. “All students who compete are winners because they make reading and learning our language a priority ― these young contestants are surely role models for all our students.”

The event, which is open to the public, is sponsored by Capital Region BOCES, the Times Union, the Upper Hudson Library System, Hannaford Supermarkets, Proctors Theatre and Time Warner Cable.

The overall winner and final round winners will be recognized at a special event at The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza at 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 6, where students will share their experiences in the Capital Region Spelling Bee. The public is welcome to attend this recognition event in support of the students and their accomplishment.

The public will be able to watch the Capital Region Spelling Bee on Channel 3 at 9 a.m. Sunday, February 13. The bee will also be available through Time Warner Cable's On Demand service.

After his win, Sharif was asked about his future plans. "Are you going to go to Disneyworld?" a reporter jokingly asked.

"I'm going to start studying for nationals," Sharif replied.