LOXLEY, Alabama --- Central Baldwin Middle School student Andrew Wilson Williams claimed his fourth Baldwin County Spelling Bee championship on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at the Loxley Civic Center.

Wilson correctly spelled "diablo" and "azure" to top Spanish Fort Middle School student Sean Rivera in Tuesday's competition.

The son of Sherri Killam-Williams and Tom Williams of Loxley, the CBMS eighth grader won his first county spelling bee as a fourth grader at Bay Minette Intermediate. He has won the last three years in a row, first as a sixth grader at Robertsdale Elementary, then his seventh- and eighth-grade years at CBMS.

At CBMS, Williams is the co-president of the Student Government Association, a member of the CBMS Band, Scholars Bowl Team and National Junior Honor Society. He is an accomplished actor and has been featured in films, commercials, public service announcement and in stage plays.

This year's competition went 21 rounds with 34 participants, including 31 of Baldwin County's elementary, intermediate and middle public schools, plus qualifiers from Bayside Academy in Daphne, Bayshore Christian in Fairhope and Central Christian School in Robertsdale. Baldwin County's Catholic schools compete separately, said event coordinate Linda Noble, elementary supervisor for Baldwin County Public Schools.

"Usually nerves play a big factor in competition," she said, "but this year we had a lot of returning competitors and it made for some excellent competition."

Williams will advance to the state competition, sponsored by Adventure Travel, which will be held March 10 at Oak Mountain High School in Shelby County near Birmingham.

Winners from state competitions advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee which will be held in October near Washington, D.C.

The nationally televised event is sponsored by the G.W. Scripps Company, based in Cincinnati. Its website, spellingbee.com, lists winners dating back to 1925.

Williams and Rivera won their local school competitions held earlier this year. Additional qualifiers from Baldwin County schools, listed in alphabetical order by school were: Makayla Edwards, Bay Minette Elementary; Deiaria Sewell, Bay Minette Intermediate; Edgar Eleogo, Bay Minette Middle; Alanna Wiest, Bayshore Christian; David Williams, Bayside Academy; Lucy Collins, Central Christian; Andrew Trotter, Daphne East Elementary; Deirryah Sappington-Allen, Daphne Middle; Demi Davis, Delta Elementary; Brooklyn Cain, Elberta Middle; Kaitlin Arthur, Elsanor Elementaryl Camille McGriff, Fairhope Intermediate; Morgan Miller, Fairhope Middle; Kameron Prim, Foley Elementary; Bunni Lerille, Foley Intermediate; McKinnon Ryall, Gulf Shores Elementary; Kyle Bell, Gulf Shores Middle; Wesley Schlumpf, J. Larry Newton; Destiny Watson, Loxley Elementary; Kyndil Beck, Magnolia School; Kyran Buxton, Orange Beach Elementary; Danielle Pelfrey, Perdido School; Kylee Clemmons, Pine Grove Elementary; Richard Williams, Robertsdale Elementary; Matthew Fondaw, Rockwell Elementary; Dawson Jones, Silverhill Elementary; Sarah Grace Collins, Spanish Fort Elementary; Ethan Ganey, Stapleton Elementary; K.C. Keller, Summerdale School; Emily Morgan, Swift Elementary; and Nicole Willis, W.J. Carroll.