Rahul Naveen, an eighth-grader at Medea Creek Middle School in Oak Park, California, is the champion of the SAGE Ventura County Spelling Bee and will represent Ventura County and SAGE Publishing at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington. Rahul outlasted 130 competitors and spelled through 29 rounds before winning by correctly spelling "effervescence."

Photo credit: Ventura County Star