EATON TWP. — Paul Kardar had to beat a familiar face —longtime friend Jeffrey Emilio — on Friday night to earn a trip to Washington, D.C., to compete at the 83rd Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee competition.

“I just feel good,” said 13-year-old Paul, an eighth-grader at Open Door Christian School. “I’m glad I won. I’m glad I got the chance to participate.”

Thirty-two students from area middle schools and junior highs competed in The Chronicle-Telegram’s 27th annual Spelling Bee finals, facing words including “susceptible,” “ambivalent,” “Parmesan” and “Illuminati.”

Jeffrey, 13, an eighth-grader at Northwood Middle School, was very happy for his friend.

“I’ve known Paul since we were babies,” he said. “When we got to the top two together, I was like, ‘Oh man!’ ” he said.

Jeffrey stumbled on “samovar,” which Paul spelled correctly, followed by “accommodate” to win. Paul said it was a little hard to beat his friend.

“I felt comfortable with him, but I also didn’t want to beat him,” Paul said.

The Kardar and Emilio families attend Church of the Open Door together, and Paul and Jeffrey have known each other since they were 18 months old.

Paul’s mother, Cindy Kardar, who frequently helped him study, said her heart raced every time her son came to the microphone.

“I had to look up a lot of the pronunciations,” she said.

As did the fourth-place finisher, 12-year-old Mackenzie Boyko, a seventh-grader at Avon Middle School.

“It’s a really tough competition,” Mackenzie said. “You can’t just naturally be a good speller. You have to prepare and not just push it off to the last day. … You have to really want it.”

The national spelling bee takes place June 2 to 4.

Other sponsors of the local bee include the Stocker Foundation, the Nordson Corp. Foundation, the Lorain County Community College Outreach Initiative and the Educational Service Center of Lorain County.

Contact Alicia Castelli at 329-7144 or ctnews@chroniclet.com.

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