Hey, in case you missed it, South Dakota had one of our own holding it down on the national stage this week during the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The three-day competition featured 247 of the best young spellers in the country, ages 9 to 15, all of whom earned their spot by winning regional bees. One of those little brainiacs was Sioux Falls’ own Oscar Quezada from Challenge Center Elementary School.
According to Dakota News Now, Quezada advanced to the second round after correctly spelling “taoiseach” in round one, a word that looks like someone accidentally spilled Scrabble tiles and decided to go with it anyway. If you’re wondering, the word taoiseach refers to Ireland’s prime minister. Don’t worry, I needed to look it up too!
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Quezada’s run came to an end in the second round during the vocabulary portion on the word “protean,” but making it to nationals is no small feat. To get there, he first had to win the 2026 South Dakota State Spelling Bee back in February, outlasting the competition until round 19 by correctly spelling “arrearage.” A word most of us would avoid using even if autocorrect offered to help…