Piper Koch/Credit: Centralia Schools  

(KMZA)--A 6th grader at Centralia Schools won the 2026 Nemaha County Spelling Bee held this past Saturday at the Sts. Peter and Paul School in Seneca. 

Piper Koch captured 1st place by correctly spelling the word  “ silhouette.”  

Koch will now advance to the State Spelling Bee to be held on March 21 at Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina, hosted by the Kansas Press Association  

The second place winner was Nemaha Central middle school student Abbott Sullivan, and the third place winner was Aubry Becker, from Centralia Schools. 

Students from the four Nemaha County schools participated in the event—including Centralia, Sabetha, Sts. Peter and Paul, and Nemaha Central Elementary and Middle School.