Merced County Spelling Bee winners announced, advance to state competition

After months of preparations across the county, the Merced County Spelling Bee came to a close earlier this month after the conclusion of the junior high portion of the competition.

Merced City School District came out on top in both the elementary and junior high spelling bees Dec. 6-7. Each event was hosted at the Merced County Office of Education Downtown Center.

The top speller for the elementary competition was Aliyah Bebero, a 4th grader from Peterson Elementary School, who earned first place with the word “acquiescent.”

Bebero was followed by Henry Vou in second place and Dominic Cuccovia in third place. Both are 6th grade students from Grasslands Elementary School, a new school in the Los Banos Unified School District.

The word moderator for the elementary competition was MCOE District Support Services Director Michelle Symes.

For the junior high competition, Rishabh Saha, a 7th grader at Cruickshank Middle School, earned first place with the word pendulous. Saha earned first place in the elementary portion of the competition last year.

Maxwell Fell, an 8th grader at Hoover Middle School came in second place and Sophia Liu, an 8th grader also at Hoover Middle School, earned third place.

The word moderator for the junior high competition was MCOE Continuous Improvement Director Laura Andrews.

The first and second place winners from the elementary and junior high competitions will advance to the state championship in May 2023 where they will represent Merced County at the California State Spelling Bee in Stockton.

The study suggestion list is provided by the San Joaquin County Office of Education, which holds the Elementary and Junior High State Spelling Bee Championships.