Aaron Ehsan, a fifth-grader at Dudley Elementary School in Victoria, Texas, is continuing the family tradition, started by his brothers, of excelling at spelling. He won the regional spelling bee in the 51st round by correctly spelling "anschluss." Aaron's oldest brother competed in the national finals in 2010.
Nathaniel Rimocal, a third-grader from Kennedy-Zapata Elementary School in Laredo, Texas, won the Laredo Morning Times regional spelling bee. His winning word was "dyslexia."
In the Dallas Regional Spelling Bee, co-champions Naysa Modi, a seventh-grader at Reynolds Middle School, and Abhijay Kodali, a fifth-grader at Liberty Elementary School, exhausted the list of words. The Dallas Sports Commission intended to send the top two spellers to the national finals, so after 27 rounds of competition, the last two students were named co-champions. This will be the fourth appearance in the national finals for Naysa and the first for Abhijay. Naysa finished seventh in the nation in 2017.
Sophia Roberto, a sixth-grader at the Philadelphia Academy Charter School, won the 24th annual Philadelphia Tribune Regional Spelling Bee. This was her first appearance in the regional competition. She said participating and winning takes time and dedication. She said she sacrificed other things to put the bee first, but was so happy that she won.
A try, try and try again strategy paid off for Akansha Nanda, a sixth-grader from Carlos Gilbert Elementary School in Santa Fe, New Mexico, who beat out 45 competitors from around the state to become the winner of the 2018 New Mexico Spelling Bee. She won in the 15th round of this year’s competition by correctly spelling the championship word "Mozambique."
For 30 rounds, Colin Aponte, a 13-year-old home-schooled student from Blue Hill, Maine, calmly and confidently spelled every word in the 2018 Maine State Spelling Bee. Colin watched his brother win the same event in 2013. He said he studies spelling lists every night, and he advances to the national finals with "crescendo."
After intense, prolonged competition, Jayden Lee, a fifth-grader from Bella Vista Elementary School in San Ramon, California, won the East Bay Times 2018 Contra Costa County Spelling Bee. This was Jayden's first countywide spelling competition and now he has advanced to the national finals. His winning word was "tracheostomy."
Marcus Giorza, a seventh-grader from Madison School in Phoenix, is the 2018 Arizona Spelling Bee winner. His winning words were "pulque" and "anthophilous." This is the 20th year the event has been sponsored by the Arizona Education Foundation. Marcus will represent all of Arizona in the national finals.
Persistence was key for Hannah Archer, an eighth-grader from Fort Frye Schools in Beverly, Ohio. She won the Marietta Times Regional Spelling Bee on her fourth try at the event. Hannah was runner-up the past two years. She outlasted 63 other spellers when she correctly spelled "spinet" and "blasé."
Joel Greenly, an eighth-grader at Midview Middle School in Grafton, Ohio, said he was confident he would get far in the 35th annual regional spelling bee. Winning the competition, sponsored by the Educational Service Center of Lorain County and The Chronicle-Telegram, was a surprise. The school is celebrating too. Joel is the first "Middie" to advance to the national finals.