CRYSTAL LAKE – P-a-r-a-b-l-e. It was a mere seven letters that catapulted Immanuel Lutheran seventh-grader Lucas Urbanski to his third consecutive McHenry County Spelling Bee win.

The event took place Wednesday evening in the Conference Center of McHenry County College. Family and friends gathered to support the regional winners from McHenry County area schools for the county bee.

Lucas walked away with the title, and the Northwest Herald is paying his way to the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., where he placed 51st in 2012.