Merced County students show off their spelling skills

Students from the Merced City School District “dominated” the 2016 Merced County Elementary and Junior High spelling bees, according to a statement from county education officials.

In the elementary bee, Nikhil Parikh, a fifth-grader at Sheehy Elementary School in Merced, came in first place among the fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders in Merced County, the Merced County Office of Education said. More than 95 students from 48 elementary schools participated. Parikh defeated the last three competitors with the word “catechism.”

There were 37 students who competed in the junior high bee from 17 junior high schools, the statement said. Daniel Chen, a seventh-grader at Cruickshank Middle School in Merced, won first place among the seventh- and eighth-graders.

Samika Judge, fifth-grader at R.M. Miano Elementary School in Los Banos, won second place in the elementary bee. Dakotah Timpson, a sixth-grader from Peggy Heller Elementary in Atwater, claimed third place.

Rivera Middle School seventh-grader Jani Vue of Merced won second place in the junior high bee and eighth-grader Arielle Talania, from Cruickshank, placed third.

First- and second-place winners from both spelling bees will represent the county at the state championships.

This story was originally published December 4, 2016 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Merced County students show off their spelling skills."