More than 120 of the area’s top young wordsmiths put their skills to the test this week at the 2024 Merced County Spelling Bee.
The annual written competition was held at the Merced County Office of Education Downtown Center and included students from elementary and junior high schools from across the county, according to a Merced County Office of Education news release.
In the elementary portion of the competition, Zoe O’Donnel, a sixth grader from Luther Burbank Elementary School, earned first place with the word “malfeasance.”
Marie Smith and Cielo Maldonado, both fifth graders from Juniper Elementary School, finished second and third, respectively, the release said.
In the junior high competition, Lawrence Ye, an eighth grader at Hoover Middle School, earned first place with the word “tenebrous.” Ye won the competition without misspelling a word.
Aanashra Afrooz, a seventh grader from Cruickshank Middle School, earned second place and Viraj Dheri, an eighth grader from McSwain Elementary, finished in third. MCOE
The first and second place spellers will advance to the California State Spelling Bee, held at Great Wolf Lodge in Manteca, this spring.
If the first or second spellers are unable to attend, the third-place speller will go in their place, the release said.
The elementary event was moderated by MCOE Director of Human Resources Stacy Shasky, while Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Laura Andrews moderated the junior high event.
