After 16 rounds of competition, seventh grade Corona-Norco Unified student Victoria Li has won the county spelling bee. This was the second year in a row that she came out on top.
“I feel completely like I’m in bliss,” Li told The Riverside Record. “I could be in heaven right now, because I’m going back to [Washington] D.C.”
Twenty-nine elementary and middle school students from across the region competed March 26 in the 48th Annual Riverside County Spelling Bee in downtown Riverside, all vying for a spot at the Scripps National Spelling Bee held in the nation’s capital this May. After three hours of competition, 12-year-old Li was declared the winner.
Seventh grade honor’s language arts teacher Carrie Knox said that she’s watched Li spend a lot of her individual time over the year studying words and practicing on an app called Word Club.
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This year’s winning word was “ejecta,” defined as material that is forced or thrown out. Li said that she had probably seen the word once before.
“I have never seen that word in print before,” Knox said. “I was just so amazed that she was able to think through it and figure out the word origins and figure out what the word is.”
Before almost every word, Li raised her hands to type in the air. She said she used to write hundreds of difficult words down in an attempt to memorize them. However, she recently switched to typing and said she “eventually” developed the muscle memory for each word.
During last year’s competition, Li also took home first place after 23 rounds, correctly spelling the word tersanctus. She went on to compete at the national tournament, where she said she made it to the quarter finals and placed 58th.
“It was just an amazing experience being around that many experienced spellers, so I’m just excited that I can go back,” she said. “I’m going to try to win first place, but at least become a finalist.”
Jacob Schliekelman, a sixth grade student at Palo Verde Unified School District, placed second in this year’s tournament. Seventh grader Aaliyah Alexander from Romoland School District and eighth grader Ezio Camerino from Beaumont Unified School District tied for third.
Jerome Camerino, the eighth grader’s father, said that Ezio immigrated from the Philippines seven months ago and that he’s practiced for the tournament by watching YouTube videos everyday for hours.
“It happened so fast,” Camerino said. “Knowing this kid, there’s really a chance that he excels on something like this but I would really like to hone this gift.”
The Scripps National Spelling Bee will be held May 26-28 at the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitutional Hall in Washington D.C.
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