5 Students Set To Represent MN In Nat'l Spelling Bee

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- There will be five champion students representing Minnesota in this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Twelve-year-old Mark Kivimaki, who goes to Valley View Middle School in Edina, just won the Seven-County Metro Area Regional Spelling Bee over the weekend at Augsburg College.

The words that Kivimaki spelled correctly to win the tournament were "thorium," which is a naturally occurring radioactive chemical element, and "serenity," the state or quality of being serene, calm, or tranquil.

The first two runners up were Abraham Teuber, from South St. Paul Secondary School, and Julia Du, from Math and Science Academy in Woodbury.

The other four students who will also be going to nationals are Lauren Crabtree of Brainerd, Shane DeSilva of Austin, Kellen Rodriguez of Fairmont, and Alyssa Boynton of Slayton. They previously won in other regional spelling bees.

In all, 50 students from 50 schools participated in the Twin Cities regional spelling bee.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is on May 25 in Washington D.C.