A Southampton Middle School student finished second Saturday in a regional spelling bee.

Walter Francis, a seventh-grader, was the runner-up in a field of 36 spellers who won bees at their schools in South Hampton Roads, Western Tidewater, the Outer Banks and northeastern North Carolina. The bee was held in the studios of WHRO television and broadcast live. It was sponsored by The Virginian-Pilot.

Caroline Willett, a homeschooled sixth-grader from Virginia Beach, won the bee and advances to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which will be held in Washington in May.