Mountain 6th Grader Hannah Li Wins District Spelling Bee!

Submitted by Carol A. Clark
on January 20, 2024
- 12:55 pm

Mountain Elementary School 6th grader Hannah Li wins 1st place in the 2024 Los Alamos County District Spelling Bee. Courtesy/LAPS

Spelling Bee Contestants. Courtesy/LAPS

LAPS News:

And then there was one. Hannah Li, a 6th grader at Mountain Elementary School, correctly spelled “exaugural” to win the 2024 Los Alamos County District Spelling Bee held Wednesday night in the Los Alamos High Speech Theater.

Julia Zou, an 8th grader at Los Alamos Middle School, earned the 2nd place trophy while Piñon Elementary School 6th grader Isaac Light took 3rd.

The contest started with 15 students from Barranca Mesa Elementary, Chamisa Elementary, Mountain Elementary, Piñon Elementary and Los Alamos Middle School. By the fourth round, there were six contestants remaining. After seven rounds, only three remained.

Thank you to the volunteers who participated in the District Spelling Bee including judges Debbie Grothaus, Oliver Morris and Morrie Pongratz; timekeepers and recordkeepers Tammy Hinckley and Nancy Brugh; and pronouncer Judy Crocker.

Hosts for the evening were the Los Alamos High School Activities department; LAPS Superintendent Jennifer Guy, Curriculum Director Dr. Sharon Fogle and Curriculum Specialist Kaela Jacobson.

Li and Zou will next compete in the online state qualifying bee Feb. 28. The top 25 scoring State Qualifying Bee Champions will qualify to compete March 23 at the State Spelling Bee.

From left, Spelling Bee Judges Morrie Pongratz, Debbie Grothaus and Oliver Morris and timekeeper and recordkeeper Tammy Hinckley and Nancy Brugh. Courtesy/LAPS