Top Spellers Crowned at Santa Cruz County Bee

The 2023 Santa Cruz County Spelling Bee champions have been crowned, with Bayview Elementary student Liesl Hildebrand taking first place in the Elementary Division and Gateway School student Sky Zeltser winning the Junior Division.

First and second place finishers in both divisions advance to the California State Spelling Championship, scheduled for Saturday, May 13, at the San Joaquin County Office of Education.

Held by the Santa Cruz County Office of Education (Santa Cruz COE), the 2023 Santa Cruz County Spelling Bee took place Saturday, January 28, at UC Santa Cruz. This year’s competition was the first event held in-person since 2020.

“Congratulations to our winners, and to every student who participated in this exciting academic event!” said Sofia Sorensen, Multilingual Achievement Coordinator at the Santa Cruz COE and event organizer. “We were thrilled to bring the Spelling Bee back in-person this year and to see such talent and love of words from students across Santa Cruz County.”

The annual academic competition includes two divisions: Elementary (Grades 4-6) and Junior (Grades 7-9). Competitors first participated in school spelling bees, with winners advancing to the county-level event. The countywide competition is open to two students from every school in Santa Cruz County, public or private, in grades 4-6 and grades 7-9 who have been certified as school champions by their school coordinator.