As during the past eight spelling bees, Riverside County’s champion came from Corona-Norco schools. But this time it wasn’t a member of the Randhawa family, which has dominated the competition for nearly a decade. Victoria Li, an Eastvale student from the Corona-Norco Unified School District, to ok this year’s crown in a marathon contest that lasted 23 rounds. Victoria Li, a sixth grader at Philistine Rondo School of Discovery in Eastvale, reacts after winning the Riverside County Spelling Bee on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. She earns a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee near Washington, D.C., in May 2025. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG) Kiyara Gunawardena, a fifth grader from Abby Reinke Elementary School in Temecula in closes her eyes as she thinks a word during the Riverside County Spelling Bee on Wednesday, March 26, 2025 in Riverside. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG) Profess Adhikari, an eighth grader at Springs Charter Schools, wins second place at the Riverside County Spelling Bee in downtown Riverside on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG) Alan Castaneda a seventh grader from Ysmael Villegas Middle School in Home Gardens pauses to consider a word during the Riverside County Spelling Bee on Wednesday, March 26, 2025 in Riverside. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG) The Riverside County Spelling Bee takes place Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at the Riverside County Office of Education Conference Center in downtown Riverside. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG) Victoria Li, a sixth grader at Philistine Rondo School of Discovery in Eastvale, is seen Wednesday, March 26, 2025, during the Riverside County Spelling Bee in downtown Riverside. Li went on to win the competition, earning a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May 2025. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG) Lucas Trinh, a fifth grader at Wildomar Elementary School in Wildomar closes his eyes between rounds of the Riverside County Spelling Bee on Wednesday, March 26, 2025 in Riverside. The Riverside County Spelling Bee is underway Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at the Riverside County Office of Education Conference Center in downtown Riverside. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG) Four trophies await the winners Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at the Riverside County Spelling Bee in downtown Riverside. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG) Juniper Donovan, a seventh grader at Nellie N. Coffman Middle School in Cathedral City concentrates between rounds of the Riverside County Spelling Bee on Wednesday, March 26, 2025 in Riverside. Ryler Gardner, a fourth grader at Tournament Hills Elementary School in Beaumont looks up as he spells a word during the Riverside County Spelling Bee on Wednesday, March 26, 2025 in Riverside. Victoria Li, a sixth grader at Philistine Rondo School of Discovery in Eastvale, hugs her mother Carol Yuan after winning the Riverside County Spelling Bee on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in downtown Riverside. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG) Craig Petinak, of the Riverside County Office of Education, reads words for the Riverside County Spelling Bee on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in downtown Riverside. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG) Victoria Li, a sixth grader at Philistine Rondo School of Discovery in Eastvale, pauses while spelling a word during the Riverside County Spelling Bee on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. Li went on to win the competition, earning a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee near Washington, D.C., in May 2025. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG) Show Caption1 of 14Victoria Li, a sixth grader at Philistine Rondo School of Discovery in Eastvale, reacts after winning the Riverside County Spelling Bee on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. She earns a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee near Washington, D.C., in May 2025. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG) Expand The sixth grader at Philistine Rondo School of Discovery in Eastvale will join two San Bernardino County students in representing the Inland Empire at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Maryland in May. Fifth grader Angeline Wang and seventh grader Hannah Kuo emerged as co-champions of the San Bernardino County Spelling Bee, which was Wednesday, March 12, at San Bernardino Valley College. Angeline, who attends Caryn Elementary School in the Etiwanda School District, correctly spelled the word “babushka” to win the trip to the nationals, a San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools news release states. The winning word for Hannah, who attends Granite Mountain Charter School in Lucerne Valley, was “bacciferous.” Seventh grader Hannah Kuo, left, and fifth grader Angeline Wang are seen Wednesday, March 12, 2025, after being named 2025 San Bernardino County Spelling Bee champions during the event at San Bernardino Valley College. (Courtesy of San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools) Angeline Wang, a fifth grader at Caryn Elementary School in the Etiwanda School District, competes Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in the San Bernardino County Spelling Bee at San Bernardino Valley College. She finished as a co-champion. (Courtesy of San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools) Hannah Kuo, a seventh grader, competes Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in the San Bernardino County Spelling Bee at San Bernardino Valley College. She finished as a co-champion. (Courtesy of San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools) Show Caption1 of 3Seventh grader Hannah Kuo, left, and fifth grader Angeline Wang are seen Wednesday, March 12, 2025, after being named 2025 San Bernardino County Spelling Bee champions during the event at San Bernardino Valley College. (Courtesy of San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools) Expand The contest featured more than 24 students and went more than 12 rounds. At Riverside County’s bee, the field was, in a sense, open due to the absence of a Randhawa family speller. Last year, eighth grader Avijeet Randhawa, of Auburndale Intermediate School, captured his second consecutive trophy, following in his two older sisters’ footsteps. It was the eighth time in a row that the family took the county bee title. Lara Randhawa and Aisha Randhawa each scored previous county bee victories. Lara won the 2021 and 2022 titles; Aisha was the last speller standing in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. The coronavirus pandemic canceled the 2020 event. Related Articles Friends of California Citrus Park will host third Citrus Festival in Riverside Temecula-area comedy festival to raise money for autism support group San Bernardino historian Steve Shaw loved his hometown and its history Community Chorus of Redlands, University of Redlands choirs will perform Fauré Requiem Redlands climate-focused group increases community outreach With Avijeet now too old to compete, spellers from other families had a competition without a clear frontrunner. Enroute to victory, Victoria correctly spelled “denigratory” in the 22nd round, and then spelled“tersanctus” in round 23, a Riverside County Office of Education news release states. “I can’t wait to go back to school and show everyone my trophy,” Victoria said after the awards ceremony, the release states. Profess Adhikari, an eighth grader at Springs Charter Schools, won second place. Four students tied for third place. The event, held in downtown Riverside at the Riverside County Office of Education’s Conference Center, was the 47th county bee. It drew 27 contestants. ...read more read less