Tulare County has a new Spelling Bee Champion!

The 2022 Tulare County Spelling Championship concluded this afternoon at the Valley Strong Ballpark in downtown Visalia The competition, which is co-hosted by the Visalia Times-Delta / Tulare Advance-Register, went 22 rounds. The winner was Bryce Melgar, a seventh-grade student at Ridgeview Middle School in Visalia.

Bryce will represent Tulare County at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May. His words were:

1. nuggets
2. pigeon
3. buffoonery
4. agitation
5. clearance
6. scullery
7. perseverance
8. nubuck
9. unmoored
10. prima donna
11. moratorium
12. neuropathy
13. spontaneity
14. salivate
15. compatriots
16. scrooge
17. maverick
18. augment
19. fission
20. impediment
21. propriety
22. Neolithic (winning word)

In second place was Yong Lee, an eighth-grade student from Sycamore Valley Academy, Visalia.

In third place was Ivan Campos Hernandez, a seventh-grade student from Washington Elementary School, Lindsay.

The Tulare County’s 23rd annual spelling bee took place this morning at Visalia Strong Ballpark in Visalia and was open to the public.

This year, 90 spellers from grades four through eight competed for the opportunity to become the 2022 Tulare County Spelling Champion and advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, scheduled to be held at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, in May. These students represent 90 public and private schools throughout the county.

Tulare County Superintendent of Schools Tim Hire and the Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register annually partner to sponsor the event.