Lake Elsinore Students Prepare To Show Off Word Power

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — More than two-dozen students in grades 4-8 will put their word power to the test next week in the 41st annual Riverside County Spelling Bee, including students from right here in Lake Elsinore.

The event is set for 9 a.m. on Feb. 28 at the Moreno Valley Conference & Recreation Center, where multiple rounds are planned into the afternoon.

A total 28 students from public and private schools throughout the county are slated to take part. Twenty-six "alternates" will also be on hand in case the principals drop out due to illness or other unforeseen factors, according to county Office of Education spokesman Craig Petinak.

The champion speller for the last two years -- Aisha Randhawa from Auburndale Intermediate School in the Corona-Norco Unified School District -- will be back for another go at the championship title. A win for Aisha next week would be unprecedented, making her the first three-time champ speller in the four-decade history of the Riverside County Spelling Bee.

Last year, Randhawa was victorious after spelling "vacuole" — a cavity in the cytoplasm of a cell — in the final round of competition, followed by "schooner" — a fore and aft rigged boat that has at least two masts, officials said. There were 19 round in total in the 2017 competition.

Petinak said that, including Aisha, six of this year's competitors have taken part in bees between 2014 and 2017.

Among the first-time contestants is Elijah Tran from Boulder Ridge Elementary School in the Romoland Unified School District. The fifth-grader said the was inspired to enter the contest because "one of my teachers died, and he really believed I could go all the way."

Other school districts that will be represented at the bee are (* represents alternate):

• Alvord Unified School District:
  
  • Angelique Garcia, Wells Middle School - Grade 6
    *Samantha Cervantes, Myra Linn Elementary School - Grade 5
• Banning Unified
  
  • Eric Vazquez, Nicolet Middle School - Grade 6
    *Rana Smith, Nicolet Middle School - Grade 7
• Beaumont Unified
  
  • Orlando Salas, Anna Hause Elementary School - Grade 5
    *Victoria Senduk, Tournament Hills Elementary School - Grade 5
• Coachella Valley Unified
  
  • Stephanie De La Rosa, Toro Canyon Middle School - Grade 7
    *Ismael Herrera, Coral Mountain Academy - Grade 6
• Corona-Norco Unified
  • Aisha Randhawa, Auburndale Intermediate School - Grade 7
    *Kavya Kadakia, Woodrow Wilson Elementary School - Grade 5
• Desert Center Unified
  
  • Nathan Marth, Eagle Mountain School - Grade 6
    *Samantha McDaniel, Eagle Mountain School - Grade 6
• Desert Sands Unified
  
  • Jaeden Tolete, Ronald Reagan Elementary School - Grade 4
    *Mia Garcia, John Glenn Middle School - Grade 6
• Hemet Unified
  
  • Aileen Luke, Western Center Academy - Grade 7
    *Ahnika Peña, Western Center Academy - Grade 8
• Lake Elsinore Unified
  
  • Illasell Tan, Cottonwood Canyon Elementary School - Grade 5
    *David Schneider, Donald Graham Elementary School - Grade 5
• Menifee Union
  
  • Ben Del Rio, Herk Bouris Elementary School - Grade 5
    *Ruben Agpalo, Menifee Valley Middle School - Grade 7
• Moreno Valley Unified
  
  • Jadelyn Hernandez, Vista Heights Middle School - Grade 8
    *Swetha Jayasinghe, Cloverdale Elementary School - Grade 4
• Murrieta Valley Unified
  
  • Joshua Velez, Cole Canyon Elementary School - Grade 5
    *Gina Namkung, Thompson Middle School - Grade 6
• Nuview Union School District
  
  • Evan Rayburn, Mountain Shadows Middle School - Grade 7
    *Vanessa Jaramillo, Mountain Shadows Middle School - Grade 7
• Palm Springs Unified
  
  • Aden Bambao, James Workman Middle School - Grade 6
    *Francis Go, Sunny Sands Elementary School - Grade 5
• Palo Verde Unified
  
  • Danni Rae Dill, Margaret White Elementary School - Grade 5
    *Jezabell Flores, Margaret White Middle School - Grade 8
• Perris Union School District
  
  • Kayla Rosales, California Military Institute - Grade 6
    *Jaiheim Grant, California Military Institute - Grade 6
• San Jacinto Unified
  
  • Hope Edwards, San Jacinto Leadership Academy - Grade 6
    *Yvette Vargas, San Jacinto Leadership Academy - Grade 7
• Temecula Valley Unified
  
  • Faizan Niazi, Temecula Middle School - Grade 7
    *Francis Yabut, Luiseno Elementary School - Grade 5
• Val Verde Unified
  
  • Saida Guinea, March Middle School - Grade 8
    *Cherish Adams, Lakeside Middle School - Grade 8

Additionally, the following unaffiliated schools will have students in the competition: Highland Academy Charter School (represented by Rishabh Nayak, Grade 7 and alternate Nathan Bishop, Grade 7); Pechanga School (represented by Kaiden Harriman Grade 4); River Springs Charter Schoo (represented by Hannah Dela Cruz, Grade 8); Santa Rosa Academy (represented by Danielle Paisley, Grade 8 and alternate Divy Nallamothu, Grade 4); St. Jeanne de Lestonnac (represented by Michael Mistica, Grade 8 and alternate Alexander Santiago, Grade 7); Temecula Preparatory (represented by Luke Oberemok, Grade 5 and alternate Nathaniel Crook, Grade 7) and Van Avery Preparatory (represented by Charys Hong, Grade 6 and Audrey Paik, Grade 8).

The overall winner of the bee will go on to represent Riverside County in the national contest, scheduled for May 27-June 2 in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Aisha represented the county there in 2016 and 2017.

— City News Service contributed to this report / Images courtesy Office of the Riverside County Superintendent of Schools