GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) _ The defending champion in the North Dakota state spelling bee won his fifth straight county bee, but not without some spirited competition from his sister.
Thirteen-year-old Ty Korsmo and his 11-year-old sister, Siri, of Northwood, were the only competitors left after the fourth round in last weekend's Grand Forks County bee.
Then ``brother and sister duked it out for eight more rounds,'' says their mother, Debbie Korsmo.
After Siri tripped up on the word ``guffaw,'' Ty took the title by spelling ``polemic.''
Both of the competitors will advance to the state bee.
And Siri didn't pout about placing second.
``When it was over, Siri said, `That was really fun,''' Debbie Korsmo says.
