St. Cecilia's School students Khyla Jones and Craig Simmons will be the Catholic schools' representatives at the 18th Bahamas National Spelling Bee.
Jones, 11, a sixth grade student, correctly spelled the word "durability" after a 30-round faceoff with Simmons, to emerge as the winner of the 50th Archdiocesan Spelling Competition, held last week at Seton Hall, Xavier's Lower School.
The duo knocked off the rest of the field after round 20, then dueled it out for another 30, during what turned out to be a grueling 50-round competition. The Archdiocesan Spelling Competition is the oldest formal spelling bee in The Bahamas.
Xavier's Lower School's Wayde Braynen Jr. finished third.
Simmons, who went into the competition as the defending champion, with Jones as his runner-up, incorrectly spelled the word "casino", which shocked Jones. She went on to correctly spell "casino" and followed it up with the correct spelling of "durability" to best Simmons this year.
"When I heard 'durability', I had to sound it out twice, and break it down. I was like, it shouldn't have an E in it, so I spelled it out how my mind told me to spell it," she said.
Jones was "ecstatic" at coming out with the win this year.
"Last year I finished second place, so I'm very excited and nervous at the same time going into the national competition," she said.
She added: "Words can't express how I felt."
Jones and Simmons will represent Catholic schools at the Bahamas National Spelling Bee scheduled for March 19. The winner will advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., from May 28 to June 3 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.
The Scripps winner receives a $40,000 cash prize and the Scripps National Spelling Bee engraved trophy; from Merriam-Webster, a US$2,500 savings bond and a complete reference library; from Encyclopedia Britannica, $400 worth of reference works, including a 1768 Encyclopedia Britannica Replica Set deluxe edition and a three-year membership to Britannica Online Premium; as well as a trip to New York City for the champion to appear on LIVE with Kelly.
Since 1976, the Scripps Bee has included competitors from outside the United States. This year, spellers from six non-U.S. countries will participate in the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee -- The Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan and Korea.
This year will mark nine decades of the national spelling bee. Every year more than 280 spellers step onto the stage at Scripps National Spelling Bee.
To celebrate Jones' win at the Archdiocesan level, her mother, Marceia Hutcheson, took Jones and her friends for a day out on Saturday, and purchased the youngster a pair of Nike high tops she wanted.
"Actually I just saw them and they caught my eye," she said, of the treat from her mother.
At school, Jones' and Simmons' accomplishments were celebrated during their assembly. Jones was happy when the student body cheered for her.
She was also proud that she and Simmons represented St. Cecilia's well.
"Our school is a good school and produces very intelligent students," said Jones.
St. Cecilia's School Principal Denise Lewis was ecstatic with Jones' and Simmons' results.
"Great things happen in the Grove," she said, as the Catholic Board celebrated 128 years of quality education.
As they prepare for the nationals, the principal encouraged the duo to continue to study hard and do their best.
"We will be proud of them however it goes," said Lewis.
Jones has been entering spelling competitions since she was a third grade student. She says she finds the competitions fun.
She said the word lists she's had to study have been helpful in her daily life. Jones recently sat the entrance examination for St. Augustine's College (SAC), and said she found many of the words from her list on the exam. Because she knew the definition of the words, it helped her. Jones has also sat the entrance exam for Aquinas College. These are her top school choices for secondary education.
While she may be a beast on the stage when it comes to spelling competitions, Jones admits to being kind of shy in the classroom.
"I don't like to raise my hand to answer questions unless I'm sure of the answer, but I'm not shy when I'm on stage," she said.
Jones likes science and says she has aspirations of becoming a biologist. She also likes math because she likes to count in her head.
To prepare for the competition this year, the sixth grade student said, since December, when she got the spelling competition word list, her mother has helped her every night. She would study her word list and then do her homework.
Now that she's on her way to compete at the nationals for the second consecutive year, Jones says her mother will still help her to study her words, but she may also be able to find a spelling coach again this year.
Teachers Ramonia Pasley and Roselyn Williams also assisted Jones and Simmons in learning their words.
Jones has been given one week off before she commences her word study again.

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