Lara Randhawa Wins First-Ever Riverside County Virtual Spelling Bee

RIVERSIDE – In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic prevented the Riverside County Spelling Bee from being held for the first time since 1978. But, in 2021, the first-ever virtual Riverside County Spelling Bee ended in a familiar way as a teenage student from Auburndale Intermediate School with the last name of Randhawa took home the championship once again.

Lara Randhawa, a 7^th grade student from Auburndale Intermediate School in Corona-Norco Unified School District, correctly spelled the word “lavation” in the 19^th round to outlast a field of 21 spellers and follow in the footsteps of her older sister, four-time Riverside County Spelling Bee Champion, Aisha Randhawa. In Round 18, Lara Randhawa correctly spelled the word “interrerlate” while Ben Josh Del Rio, an 8th grade student from Santa Rosa Academy in Menifee, incorrectly spelled the word “grudgingness.”

“I really enjoy learning how to use the roots, definitions, and parts of speech of the different words to figure out how to spell words I’ve never heard before,” Randhawa said immediately after the final round. “My dad helped me practice a lot, I used spelling tools online, and my sister quizzed me too. I’m excited to make my family, my district, and my county proud at the national bee.”

Conducted exclusively on Zoom with integrity measures in place to ensure fair competition, spellers and judges worked through hundreds of words during the event that lasted nearly four hours.

2021 Riverside County Virtual Spelling Bee Final Standings

The bee featured 21 spellers from Riverside County charter schools, private schools, and school districts. Top finishers at this year’s bee included:

1^st Place – Lara Randhawa, Grade 7
Auburndale Intermediate School
Corona-Norco USD

2^nd Place – Ben Josh Del Rio
Grade 8
Santa Rosa Academy

3^rd Place – Hayley Foo
Grade 6
Ysabel Barnett Elementary School
Temecula Valley USD

4^th Place – Swetha Jayasinghe
Grade 7
Palm Middle School
Moreno Valley USD

5^th Place – Gene Trevor Garcia
Grade 7
Bell Mountain Middle School
Menifee USD

Beyond admission to the Scripps National Spelling Bee competition, the prize pack for winning the Riverside County Spelling Bee includes:

• The Samuel Louis Sugarman Award — a 2021 United States Mint Proof Set
• A one-year subscription to Britannica Online Premium
• A one-year subscription to Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online, the official dictionary of the Scripps National Spelling Bee