In the end, Farrah Garver was able to pull on her past experiences to help her win the 2026 Troy City Spelling Bee Championships Tuesday in the Troy High School auditorium. 

For Garver, a Troy Junior High School student, the third time was the charm as she outlasted eight other school champions in a spelling bee that went 25 rounds before she won the trophy by correctly spelling “riddance” in round 25 and then “refinery” in the championship round. 

Garver had previously made it to the city spelling bee both as a student at Forest Elementary School and the Van Cleve Sixth Grade Building. Troy Christian’s Ben Bigelow finished in second place.

“It feels pretty good to win this,” Garver said.

In a competition where composure seemingly matters almost as much as spelling ability, Garver said being there a third time was definitely a benefit, as she was able to remain composed throughout the entire competition. 

“It helped me work through the nerves,” she said of her previous trips to the city spelling bee.

In particular, her ability to stay collected under the bright lights paid off several rounds earlier when she had a chance to win in the championship word by spelling “precocious.” She appeared to know how to spell the word, but may have started spelling too quickly and transposed the “e” and the “c,” allowing Bigelow back into the competition for several more rounds. 

“I knew it,” Garver said. “When I missed it, I was like, ‘Oh, dang.’” 

She said she recovered by putting the missed opportunity out of her mind and focusing on the next round.

“I just kind of moved on from there,” she said.

The school representatives were: Havistha Koka (Concord Elementary School), Connor Quillen (Cookson Elementary School), Karlee Newton (Forest Elementary School), Lilith Noel (Heywood Elementary School), Fenix Miller (Hook Elementary School), Chase Magyar (Van Cleve Sixth Grade Building), Garver (Troy Junior High School), Bigelow (Troy Christian Elementary School) and Ellie Peterson (Saint Patrick School).