Middle school student repeats as St. Johns County spelling bee champion

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Manischa Wijayawardhana, a sixth-grade student at Switzerland Point Middle School, won the annual St. Johns County School District Spelling Bee Wednesday at First Coast Technical College.

Wijayawardhana won by spelling the word “ascension” correctly. She also won the St. Johns County Spelling Bee last year as a fifth-grader and was the runner-up in the First Coast Regional Spelling Bee. Her sister, Himaschi Wijayawardhana, a fifth-grader from Timberlin Creek Elementary School, finished in second place.

It took 12 rounds for the winner to be determined.

Forty-six elementary and middle school students from 31 public and five private schools competed for the chance to represent St. Johns County in the First Coast Regional Spelling Bee scheduled for Feb. 27 at Jacksonville University.

The winner of the regional spelling bee will advance to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee scheduled in May in Washington, D.C.