Lincoln Elementary School fifth-grader Teresa Salazar stepped up to the microphone with one final word to spell to capture the District Spelling Bee title on Feb. 19.
The word was “celebrity.”
“I knew right away that I could spell it correctly, so it made me excited,” Salazar said.
Salazar calmly spelled her final word as a room full of parents and supporters erupted into applause. She outlasted 11 other participants who entered the District event as spelling champions of their respective schools in grades 4-6.
Mateo Ramirez, of Will Rogers, and Sophia Arevalo, of Wilson, finished second and third respectively and also lifted trophies.
Salazar will now represent Lynwood Unified in the LA County spelling bee next month.
SPELLING BEE CONTESTANTS
Christopher Arzate, Abbott; Johan Perez, Helen Keller; Teresa Salazar, Lincoln; Omar Andaya, Lindbergh; Jaden Sulub-Rodriguez, Lugo; Camila Felix, Mark Twain; Alexander Venegas, Marshall; Ismael Pineda-Hernandez, Roosevelt; Donny Espinoza, Rosa Parks; Angie Sepulveda, Washington; Mateo Ramirez, Will Rogers; Sophia Arevalo, Wilson.