Poway student named San Diego County spelling bee champion
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — An eighth grader from Poway was named the 54th San Diego County Scripps Regional Spelling Bee champion Thursday and will go on to represent the county at the national level.
Benjamin Evans, a student at Twin Peaks Middle School in Poway, correctly spelled the winning word “epihippus,” beating two-time champion Mihir Konkapaka from Mesa Verde Middle School.
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The San Diego competition kicked off Thursday with more than 80 participants at the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA gymnasium. After 19 rounds, Evans and Konkapaka were the last two standing.
In May, Evans will head to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. to face other regional champions from other parts of the country. Konkapaka, the runner-up, will be on standby to compete in the national competition in case Evans is unable to.
San Diego County is no stranger to showing up at the national level.
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In 2012, Snigdha Nandipati, then a student at Francis Parker School, was crowned the winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
In 2005, Anurag Kashyap, a Poway student, not only won the national spelling bee but also went on to win the Jeopardy! Teen Tournament three years later.
Participants prepare for the competition by studying the School Spelling Bee Study List, the Words of the Champions and the Word Club app, all of which are provided by the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Learn more about the spelling bee competition details and past winners on the SDCOE Spelling Bee webpage.
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