SULLIVAN - He may have had to spell it, but there was nothing "ridiculous" about Cameron Jones' three-peat as Moultrie County Spelling Bee champion.

The Sullivan Middle School eighth-grader beat 17 challengers from Sullivan, Okaw Valley and Lovington schools Wednesday afternoon at Little Theatre-on the Square in Sullivan. It was the third year in a row he has won this bee and gone on to compete at the regional spelling bee at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 15, in Kaeuper Hall at Millikin University.

"I didn't study as much as I could have," he said, after spelling correctly words such as "galleria" and "macrame." "I'll be studying more before the regional."

Second-place finisher was sixth-grader Emily Scott of Okaw Valley, who spelled words she was probably too young to have experienced, such as "percolate" and "Kremlin" before being hung up with "pacifism."

"It was fun," she said. "I'd do it again."

Cameron, the son of Tony and Jon Jones, brought his own cheering section, with parents, grandparents, siblings and others watching.

"We're all very proud of him," his mother said. "He works hard at doing this."

After finishing fourth in the regional bee the last two years, Cameron is hoping to finish higher.

"I really would like to win it and go on to (the Scripps National Spelling Bee in) Washington," he said.

But, just as enticing is a promise from his spelling teacher.

"Mrs. Rotramel said she'd let me off spelling assignments for the rest of the year if I won the regional," Cameron said. "I'd like to do that."

Sharon Mosley can be reached a sharonhrnews@yahoo.com.