LIGONIER — For the second year in a row, Alexia Zawadzke proved to be the best speller among all middle and elementary school students in Noble County. She claimed the championship trophy at the Noble County Spelling Bee, held Tuesday night at West Noble Middle School in Ligonier. Zawadzke, 13, who claimed the county title last year as a 7th-grader at St. John Lutheran School, prevailed through 25 rounds to win the 2010 title. She advances to the regional spelling bee in Fort Wayne on March 13. Last year she finished in third place at the regional. Zawadzke correctly spelled “foliate” to win Tuesday’s contest in the 25th round. First runner-up Daniel Kane, a 6th-grader at Southside Elementary School in Kendallville, dropped out in the 24th round when he missed on “klompen” (Dutch wooden shoes.) He started the word with a “c” instead of a “k.” He is the son of Jim and Susan Kane of Kendallville. Zawadzke, granddaughter of Gary and Cheryl Glaze of Kendallville, said she studied hard for the competition, from a list of 1,150 words. There were nine competitors.