Eleven-year-old Oscar Quezada claimed the state championship and will move on to the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington in May after correctly spelling “arrearage.” (ar·rear·age)
For the second year, South Dakota News Watch and Dakota Wesleyan University sponsored the competition, which was held at DWU in Mitchell.
Eleven-year-old Pleroma Otang from Brandon Valley Intermedia School took second place. And 13-year-old Ashika Gupta from Dakota Valley Upper Elementary Middle School took 3rd place…