Columbia Academy Student Crowned Spelling Bee Champ

Mitsuki Ota correctly spelled sebaceous, which means fatty or greasy, to be crowned the county-wide spelling champion after seventeen rounds of the ninth-annual Howard County Spelling Bee.

Mitsuki, a seventh-grader at Columbia Academy, beat out 63 other spellers to win the championship, according to the Howard County Library System Facebook page.

He won a $1,000 scholarship, a trophy and a trip to Washington D.C. to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which takes place May 28 - 30.

The county-wide bee featured students from grades 4 through 8 who had already won his or her school's spelling bee.

Last year’s champion was Elkridge's Jack Nolan, who at the time was an eighth grader at Mayfield Woods Middle School. Due to his age, he was not able to compete in this year's event.

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