Seventh-Grader Wins Third Consecutive County Spelling Bee

MORENO VALLEY, CA - For the third straight year, a Corona student put her word power to work to win the Riverside County Spelling Bee.

Aisha Randhawa from Auburndale Intermediate School in the Corona-Norco Unified School District took top honors after 29 rounds of sounding out tongue-twisters and arcane terms that stymied her 27 competitors in the 41st annual bee.

"It feels really good to win the third time," Aisha said. "The competition was tough this year, and it was a long day. It represents a lot of hard work -- and staying hydrated."

According to the Office of Education, the final two words that the seventh-grader spelled to clinch the title were "bulbul" -- a species of songbird -- and "epigraphic," which defines inscriptions on buildings.

Aisha, as she did in 2016 and 2017, will go on to represent the county at the 91st annual Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill Maryland in May.

She is only the third youth in the four-decade history of the county contest to ace three straight bees, Office of Education spokesman Craig Petinak said.

Michael Mistica, an eighth-grader from St. Jeanne de Lestonnac in Temecula, came in second, foundering on the word "babuina," which is a female baboon.

"My record this year is the best yet," Mistica said, noting that it was his fifth time competing in the bee. "I've never heard that word before."

In third place was Faizan Niazi from Temecula Middle School, followed by Hope Edwards from the San Jacinto Leadership Academy.

The daylong event was held at the Moreno Valley Conference & Recreation Center. Six of this year's competitors, including Aisha, had taken part in bees between 2014 and 2017.

— By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock