A 12-year-old from Valley View Middle School in Edina correctly spelled "thorium" and "serenity" to win the 7-County Metro Area Regional Spelling Bee Saturday at Augsburg College.
Mark Kivimaki, the son of Mary and Bruce Kivimaki, will now move on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee scheduled May 25-31 in Washington, D.C.
The victory completes the field for Minnesota's five state regional champions to head to Washington.
Brainerd eighth-grader Lauren Crabtree of Forestview Middle School won the Lakes Bee two weeks ago. Already bound for the national bee are Shane DeSilva, an eighth-grader from Pacelli Catholic Schools in Austin; Kellen Rodriguez, an eighth-grader in the Fairmont School District; and Alyssa Boynton, a seventh-grader at Murray County Central in Slayton.
Fifty students from 50 schools competed in the metro spelling bee at Hoversten Chapel at Augsburg. Spellers were from elementary, middle and junior high schools, community and magnet schools, private and home schools.
Abraham Teuber, 13, of South St. Paul Secondary School, the son of Becca and Tim Teuber, took second place after misspelling "chaldron" in round 15.
Julia Du, 13, of Math and Science Academy in Woodbury, the daughter of Xuemei Tang and Haiwei Du, placed third. She missed "embayment" in round 14.
Mark Brunswick
