Congratulations Callie Yang (second from left) of Plaza Vista and Mahima Wuppalapati (first from left) of Beacon Park, who tied for second place in the Orange County Spelling Bee! These top spellers competed in 17 rounds over two days. Each earned a $250 prize.
Presented by the Orange County Department of Education, the Orange County Spelling Bee began with 101 standout spellers who had won their school or district bees. On Feb. 27, they gathered at OCDE’s Costa Mesa administrative campus to take a 25-question written spelling and vocabulary test.
From that group, the top 32 were invited to participate in Saturday’s final oral round, which started at 9 a.m. Rebecca Kaminsky, professor of English at Irvine Valley College, served as the competition’s pronouncer.
Over the next four hours came a volley of challenging words like “castellated,” “nubilous,” “embouchure,” “anathema,” “scrivener,” “crinoline” and “panary.” Round by round, the pool of students who were still standing gradually diminished.
For more information about the Orange County Spelling Bee, visit ocde.us/SpellingBee.