BY SOPHIA GONZALEZ
Staff Writer
Published March 19, 2008

Don’t know how to spell "frankincense?"

Don’t use spellcheck. Just ask 13-year-old Gilead "Gil" Walzer.

The eighth-grader from Tenafly Middle School student won the 71st annual North Jersey spelling bee last Thursday at Fairleigh Dickinson.

Up against 25 competitors from towns such as Hawthorne and River Edge, Walzer coasted to victory at the end of the eighth rounds. The eighth-grader first competed in a spelling bee round at his middle school and then another semi-finals round March 9.

"[My classmates] were all excited for me," said the 13-year-old, upon returning to school the next day.

Just over a week ago, he placed second in the state’s Mathcounts competition. And "coming up very soon," Walzer said he plans to make the trek to a geography bee.

Walzer said that for the final competition, he studied a list of commonly used words for four days.

But he then said that it was reading that factored into his spelling success.

"I read a lot and that’s one of the reasons why I did so well," said Walzer.

First place prizes included a $1,000 scholarship, $100 savings bond, Webster dictionary and $2,000 for the next national spelling bee competition in Washington, D.C.

Competition will be fierce, so Walzer said he has already begun going over words.

"Even if I don’t do well, I’d still think I did well," said Walzer.