'Skill Under Pressure' RivCo Speller Wins County Bee For 2nd Year In A Row

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — Twenty-eight highly prepared Riverside County 4th through 8th-grade spellers competed Thursday in the 48th edition of the Riverside County Spelling Bee.

The event was held at the Riverside County Office of Education Conference Center, the event continued for 15 rounds until Victora Li correctly spelled “potamic” in the 15 th round, and then accurately spelled “ejecta” as the winning word in the 16 th round—a word defined as “material thrown out (as from a volcano).”

Victoria will represent Riverside County once again at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in
Maryland from May 26 to May 28, 2026, at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.

"In 2025, Victoria was named the Riverside County Spelling Bee Champion after 23 rounds of
competition," a spokesperson for the Riverside County Office of Education said. During the last Scripps National Spelling Bee, she advanced to the quarterfinals and finished in a tie for 58th place.

This year’s participants prepared by studying 4,000 words before the county spelling bee. Their
true mastery, however, was evident after round 8, when students advanced to words beyond the
official study list.

Following the event, Victoria shared that she studies for hours each day and plans to add additional study time in preparation for the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Riverside County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Edwin Gomez commented on Victoria and all of the contestants' spelling abilities.

“Each student who competed in this year’s Riverside County Spelling Bee should be incredibly
proud of their achievement,” Gomez said.
“The discipline and skill under pressure they demonstrated throughout this process will serve
them well on their academic and professional journeys. We wish Victoria the very best as she
represents Riverside County at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.”

Jacob Schliekelman, a 6th-grade student from Ruth Brown Elementary School in the Palo Verde
The Unified School District earned second place.

Finishing in a tie for third were Aaliyah Alexander, a
7th-grade student from Granite Hills TK-8 School in Romoland School District, and Ezio
Camerino, an 8th-grade student from San Gorgonio Middle School in Beaumont Unified School
District.