After winning the Santa Cruz County Spelling Bee on Saturday, students from Scotts Valley Middle School, Nature Academy and Pacific Collegiate School are headed to the statewide spelling championship.
Emerson Brunner, a sixth grader at Scotts Valley Middle School, took first place in the Elementary Division, followed by Horace Dong, also a sixth grader at Scotts Valley Middle School, in second place, with Cooper Slavich, a fifth grader at Boulder Creek Elementary School securing third place.
In the Junior Division, Lovina Wildermuth-Reyes, a seventh grader from Nature Academy, a San Lorenzo Valley charter school, claimed first place, with Aria Menon, a seventh grader at Pacific Collegiate School, earning second place, and Samarth Singh, an eighth grader from Scotts Valley Middle School, finishing third.
The first- and second-place holders in both divisions advance to the California State Spelling Championship, scheduled for April 26 at the Great Wolf Lodge in Manteca.
“Congratulations to this year’s winners and to all the incredible students from across Santa Cruz County who took on the challenge of the Spelling Bee!” Barbara Huebner, multilingual achievement coordinator at the Santa Cruz County Office of Education, said in a news release.
“Competing in the Spelling Bee takes hard work and confidence,” she said, “and we are proud of every student who participated and showcased their passion for language and learning.”
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