Third-Grader Benavides Wins District Spelling Bee

Updated: February 20, 2015

Grecia Benavides, an 8-year-old third-grade student at Olmito Elementary School, outlasted the field to win the 11th Annual Los Fresnos CISD Spelling Bee Saturday.

Benavides was the last speller standing in the seventh round. She and Liberty Memorial Middle school’s Griselda Espinoza were the last two spellers after four rounds. Both spellers correctly spelled their words in the fifth round.

But in the sixth round, Benavides spelled her word correctly while Espinoza missed. The smallest speller in the field of 35 spellers then spelled her championship word correctly in the seventh round.

Sara Lin of Rancho Verde Elementary finished in third place.

Benavides now advances to participate in the Rio Grande Valley Spelling Bee March 7 at South Texas College in Weslaco. The winner there advances to participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee May 24-29 in National Harbor, Md., near Washington, D.C.

Participants in Saturday’s Bee included Griselda Gail Espinoza, Adilene Nieto, and John Silva from Liberty Memorial Middle School; Ramon Curzio, Alexea Pappas, and Clarisse Tudon from Los Cuates Middle School; Aliyah Gutierrez, Ysabella Piccio, and Ishka Treviño from Resaca Middle School; Fatima Lara, Jennifer Laznovsky, and Jazmin Loperena from Dora Romero Elementary; Yadira Carlos, Clarissa Lozano, and Joseph Treviño from Las Yescas Elementary; Victoria Garcia, Casey Martinez, and Victoria Perales from Laureles Elementary; David Alvarez, Vicktor Jasso, and Megan Urbina from Lopez-Riggins Elementary; Cornelius Aguirre, Ty Leigh, and Alysha Solis from Los Fresnos Elementary; Grecia Benavides, Kailey Lei, and Jose Omar Mendiola from Olmito Elementary; Dylan Paredes, Jonathan Ybarra, and Marcos Zarate from Palmer-Laakso Elementary; Prisci Baltazar, Sara Lin, and Tatiana Marquez from Rancho Verde Elementary; and Joy Espinoza, Daniela Perez-Salazar, and Isabella Sorelle from Villareal Elementary.