Blackberry Creek Elementary School fifth-grader Ben Manugas added another honor to a growing list last week when he won the Kaneland School District 302 spelling bee.

Ben, 10, has collected three consecutive spelling bee titles at Blackberry Creek, winning the most recent contest Thursday at Kaneland High School. The final two words were persimmon and ominous. The school’s principal, Andrew Gibbs, said he noticed that Ben smiled when he heard the word “persimmon.”

“They were both easy,” Ben said. “I studied them.”