Aanandi Dutta, a senior at the Kyrene de los Cerritos Leadership Academy, won the Regional Champion title in the Maricopa County Regional 1 Spelling Bee.

The top spellers from the Southeast Valley were competing in the Maricopa County Region 1 Spelling Bee on Saturday, February 11, according to a press release.

After nine competitive rounds, Dutta was the only speller to successfully spell “sell” in nine rounds. In the tenth and final round, Dutta spelled the championship word “vexatious” correctly and won the title.

Kyrene School District Spelling Bee champion Paige Erickson, an eighth grade student at Kyrene Middle School, is also among the top 10 spelling players in the region, the release added.

A total of 33 spellers from the Cyrene School District, Mesa Public Schools, Tempe Elementary School District, and private, charter and homeschool organizations entered the competition after winning individual qualifying spelling bees.

Dutta will compete in the Arizona State Spelling Bee on March 18th at the Madison Center for the Arts. The top two spellers in that competition will qualify for her 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC.

“Kirine congratulates all spellers and wishes the winners of Datta and other regional bees good luck,” the release said.