LAKE ASBURY— A Keystone Heights Junior-Senior High seventh grader correctly spelled “dicey” and “trivia” after 13 rounds to become Clay County’s 2022 spelling champion.

At the Lake Asbury Junior High’s auditorium, 33 students from 33 middle and elementary schools took center stage for the Clay County Spelling Bee. Successfully maneuvering words like “Kaddish” and “Vambrace,” Rena Reddish was the last student left standing.

The first round shed 11 contestants on words like “herbalist,” “embroidery” and “faltered.” Round two was more dangerous, eliminating 12 students on tough words such as “quatrains,” “kimchi” and “Jains.” Five of the remaining 10 exited round four due to the following words: “Arapahoe,” Quasimoto,” “ziggurat,” “Yom Kippur” and “Allee.”

Now with five students remaining, the fourth and fifth-place students, William Summers and Antonio Almojera, departed on “Firenze” and “Justaucorps,” respectively.

The final three consisted of Reddish, Fleming Island Elementary’s Brighton Cisneros and Lake Asbury Junior High’s Riya Patel. Cisneros left after round five, which led to seven consecutive correct answers from Reddish and Patel. After Patel dropped “whelp,” Reddish landed “dicey” and the championship word “trivia.”

“That was a nail biter,” District Supervisor of Reading Bianca Montero said.

Reddish finished third in the Spelling Bee last year. Her mother, Marla Reddish, said she was on the edge of her seat.

“It got down to the last two and went back and forth. I didn’t know who was going to win,” Marla Reddish said. “She’s put in a lot of hard work, so I’m really happy for her, but also for all the students too. They all worked really hard to get here.”

The night kicked off with Superintendent David Broskie recalling an era before the internet and spellcheck. He thanked parents, teachers and administrators for their efforts in preparing students for success.

“I visited with the students before and they’re a little nervous,” he said. “You have nothing to be nervous about. As far as I’m concerned, you’re all winners.”