Cullman County 8th grader wins Alabama Spelling Bee

Stephen Briscoe, an eighth-grade student at Hanceville Middle School, is the 2023 winner of the Alabama Spelling Bee.

Briscoe, 14, spelled “schnell” correctly to win the title, during the finals of the competition on Saturday at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. As the state champ, Briscoe will move on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, set for May 28-June 2 at Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.

Briscoe, the son of Wayne and Alma Briscoe, is the second student from Cullman County to win the state bee since its inception in 1925. He follows Ray Crocker of Cullman County, who aced the state contest in 1988, according to Susan McDougal, executive director of the Alabama Spelling Bee.

As the winner, Briscoe received a Merriam-Webster dictionary and an all-expenses paid trip to Maryland for the nationals with one of his parents, including airfare, a hotel stay and more, McDougal said.

The teen out-spelled 52 other students in grades 4…