Local Boy Finishes Fourth in Spelling Bee

The Super Bowl for academics—at least the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade ones—is the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. In Orange County, 56 students gathered Saturday at the Dept. of Education to find the region's best speller.

The winner was Sam Nitz, a seventh-grader at the Pegasus School in Huntington Beach, who outlasted Robert Clarke, a seventh-grader at Nicholas Junior High in Fullerton. 

After Clarke misspelled "woad," a European herb used as a blue dye, Nitz spelled it correctly. Then Nitz spelled "olid," a foul smell, to give him sweet victory.

The highest-placing local student was Dhilip Raman of Las Flores Middle School, who finished fourth and received a $200 award. He finished behind Nitz, Clarke and Brian Chap of Golden Elementary in Placentia.

Seven Rancho Santa Margarita-area students qualified for the semifinals and participated in the written test: Alyssa Fujiwara, Ryan Wilson and Madelyn Gehrich from St. John's Episcopal School, and Anya Mansoor, Daniel Ortega,  Tami Tedesco and Raman from Las Flores.

The 56 students who participated in the oral competition had successfully passed a written test.

Top 10 finishers in Orange County

1. Sam Nitz, Pegasus Private School, Trip to Washington, D.C.

2. Robert Clarke, Nicholas Jr. High, Fullerton SD, $275

3. Brian Chap, Golden Elem., Placentia-Yorba Linda USD, $225

4. Dhilip Raman, Las Flores MS, Capistrano USD, $200

5. Andrew Chen, Acacia Elem., Fullerton SD, $175

6. Tommy Nguyen, McGarvin Int., Garden Grove USD, $150

7. Arthur Tran, Fitz Int., Garden Grove USD, $125

8. Angela Dong, Lakeside MS, Irvine USD, $75

9. Chris Tran, Fitz Int., Garden Grove USD, $75

10. Amrit Rau, Sierra Vista MS, Irvine USD, $75