The third time was the charm for Taryn Thor.

The Northwestern Middle School eighth-grader outspelled 32 other students from Howard, Tipton, Cass, Pulaski and Fulton counties to become the Kokomo Tribune Regional Spelling Bee champion. She will represent the Kokomo area at the Scripps National Spelling Bee June 2-4 in Washington, D.C.

“It feels amazing because I’ve been working on it for so long,” Thor said.

She said she “studied and studied” for the bee, with help from her mother, Teresa Thor, and father, Terry Thor.

It was her third time competing in the annual bee at Indiana University Kokomo’s Kresge Auditorium.

It was no easy task — Thor and Adam Dinkledine, the 2009 champion, went 25 rounds to reach the final word, “beneficiary,” that made Thor the champion. Dinkledine, an eighth-grader, represented Kokomo Area Schools at Home.

Third-place winner Tristen Carlson, who is in eighth grade at Rochester Middle School, made it to round 11 before misspelling “volatile,” leaving Dinkledine and Thor to spell 14 more rounds back and forth.

The bee began with 32 spellers. Four sat down in the first round, on words including “mildew” and “commentary.”

Eight more were eliminated in the second round, on words such as “rutabaga,” “rotisserie” and “labyrinth.”

Spellers reacted to their words, either with smiles to show they knew the word, raised eyebrows from one speller, and one girl whose whole upper body slumped in dismay when she heard her word.

Fourteen spellers continued into round three, and the words grew increasingly difficult. One speller took long pauses between each letter, thinking it through to correctly spell his word. Two were eliminated, incorrectly spelling “sonata” and “jovial.”

Two more sat down in round four, on “cauliflower” and “sultan,” leaving the final 10 spellers to continue into round five. Two spellers left the stage in that round, on “barracks” and “ethanol,” and two more left in round six, misspelling “extremity” and “acrostic.”

Only one was eliminated in the seventh round, on “adolescent.” As one contestant spelled his word correctly, one of his supporters stage-whispered “Yes!” in relief.

Five students continued into the eighth round, and one sat down after missing “irritable.” The remaining four correctly spelled their words in the ninth round, and one more went out in the 10th, on “neoprene,” leaving Carlson, Dinkledine and Thor.

After Carlson finished, the final two spelled back and forth, with Dinkledine getting “ascension,” “agile,” “redundancy” and “stalwart,” among others, while Thor correctly spelled “deoxygenate,” “sturgeon,” “plutocratic” and “physiology,” among others.

Dinkledine asked for definitions of every word, and sometimes spelled his words with a finger on his hand, a trick he said often helps him visualize the word.

If Thor was nervous, she did not reveal it, appearing to be calm as she spelled each word.

Finally, in round 24, Dinkledine missed “peremptorily,” leaving the door open for Thor. She had to correctly spell her next word, and then one more, to claim the championship. If she did not, Dinkledine was back in the game.

She slowly spelled “theoretician,” and then pronouncer Joe Dunbar asked if she was ready for her final word. She said she was, and returned from her seat to the microphone. She smiled as Dunbar gave her her word, “beneficiary,” and then spelled it correctly, to an outburst of applause.

“That may be the longest [bee] we’ve had in a long time,” Dunbar said.

As the champion, Thor received an expenses-paid trip to the Scripps National Spelling Bee for herself and one parent, along with a trophy, a Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, a Sam Sugarman certificate bond and a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Brittanica Online.

Dinkledine received a trophy, a $20 Amazon.com gift certificate, a Webster Third New International Dictionary and a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Brittanica Online. Carlson received a trophy, a $20 Amazon.com gift certificate and a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Brittanica Online.

The three top finishers agreed experience helped them do well. This was Carlson’s second bee, Dinkledine’s fourth and Thor’s third. All three are eighth-graders, so this is their last year to compete.

Thor said she is excited to go to the national bee. She is most looking forward to “being on TV and the plane ride.”

• Danielle Rush is the Kokomo Tribune education reporter. She can be reached at 765-454-8585 or danielle.rush@kokomotribune.com.