Top spellers from across the southeast valley competed in the Maricopa County Region 1 Spelling Bee on Saturday, February 15. Congratulations to Isabelle Garcia, an 8th grade student at Kyrene del Pueblo Middle School for earning the title of champion, qualifying for the Arizona State Bee for the second year in a row. Last year, Garcia went all the way to the national competition in Washington, D.C.

During six competitive rounds on Saturday, Garcia spelled words like diaspora, arbutus and koto, leading up to the championship round, when she breezed through the word patella.

A total of 25 spellers from Kyrene School District, Mesa Public Schools, Tempe Elementary School District and private, charter and homeschool organizations competed in the Bee after winning their individual qualifying spelling bees.

Garcia and the other top 27 spellers in the state will move on to the Arizona State Spelling Bee on March 15 at Madison Center for the Arts. The top two spellers in that competition will qualify for the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. Kyrene congratulates all spellers and wishes Garcia G-O-O-D L-U-C-K!