SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A Poway 7th grader has claimed the top spot, returning for the second year to take the title of champion at the 53rd annual San Diego Union-Tribune Countywide Spelling Bee.
Mihir Konkapaka, a 7th-grade student at Mesa Verde Middle School in Poway battled through eight rounds with his toughest competitor from 2022.
“In the end, Mihir correctly spelled ‘exsufflation,’ a word from Latin meaning “forcible breathing or blowing out (as in clearing the respiratory tract),” the San Diego County Office of Education said.
This marks the second time Mihir will represent the county at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
“I’m excited because the words were really intense and there was no way I could prepare for that,” Mihir said.
Also for the second year in a row, Jedd Li will serve as an alternate.
To prepare for the bee, spellers studied the 2023 School Spelling Bee Study List, the Words of the Champions, and the Word Club app.
