Students represent Idaho at the Scripps National Spelling Bee

The English language is a complicated hybrid, one with rules and inconsistencies which, frankly, can be hard to keep track of.

Spelling bees provide kids the opportunity to pair a curiosity for this intricate language with a competitive spirit, and the biggest stage for young spellers is the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee.

This year’s spelling bee began on May 30 and saw two Idaho students competing for the championship in National Harbor, Maryland.

Kayla Tenney Villalobos, an eighth-grader from Coeur d’Alene, was the first Idahoan to qualify for the spelling bee after she won the 2023 North Idaho Spelling Bee back in February.

The second student representing Idaho on the national stage is another eighth grader, Eliana Castro. She qualified for the event in March at the Southwest Idaho Spelling Bee.

RELATED | Eliana Castro wins Scripps Regional Spelling Bee

Unfortunately, Kayla and Eliana were both among the 59 spellers eliminated in the first round after misspelling temalacatl (a Mesoamerican gladiatorial platform) and kwashiorkor (a kind of severe protein deficiency) respectively.

The finals for this year’s bee will be held on June 1st.