In the midst of "flu season," it was the word "phlegm" that won the 47th annual San Diego Union-Tribune Countywide Spelling Bee Tuesday at the San Diego Hall of Champions in Balboa Park.
Ella Peters, a seventh-grader at Notre Dame Academy in Carmel Valley, beat more than 100 other middle school-ages students when she correctly spelled the word for the thick mucus secreted in the respiratory passages.
Peters will represent San Diego at the national event in May.
"These kids take it really seriously and they’ve worked really hard. They’ve already won the spelling bee at their school, and now they’re competing at this countywide bee for the chance to represent our county in the national spelling bee," said Music Watson, a spokeswoman for the San Diego County Office of Education. "So they are not taking this lightly. It's very intense."
Jeremiah Saguin of Calavera Hills Middle School in Carlsbad took second place.
The other finalists were Bennett Hochner of Aviara Oaks Middle School in Carlsbad; Spencer Tuchscher-Hart of Francis Parker School in San Diego; Nina Elefsen of James E. Potter Junior High in Fallbrook; and Roger Reinhardt of Language Academy in San Diego.
Watson said the bee emphasizes the importance of spelling in communication.
"At the same time we’re seeing text messages, and Twitter, and 140 character limits, we also see a need to help students learn to communicate and express themselves and spelling is the fundamental building block for that," Watson said.
Last year, Oona Flood of Earl Warren Middle School in Solana Beach won the San Diego competition by correctly spelling "fuliginous," the adjective meaning "sooty" or "dusky." Oona was eliminated in the national Spelling Bee before reaching the semifinals.
In 2012, Snigdha Nandipati of Francis Parker School in Linda Vista won the national competition.
David Hay, an adjunct research associate teaching Shakespeare and dramatic literature at the University of San Diego, served as the "bee master" for the 35th and final year.
