Sioux Falls Student Shines At The National Spelling Bee

Hey, in case you missed it, South Dakota had one of our own holding it down on the national stage this week during the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The three-day competition featured 247 of the best young spellers in the country, ages 9 to 15, all of whom earned their spot by winning regional bees. One of those little brainiacs was Sioux Falls’ own Oscar Quezada from Challenge Center Elementary School.

According to Dakota News Now, Quezada advanced to the second round after correctly spelling “taoiseach” in round one, a word that looks like someone accidentally spilled Scrabble tiles and decided to go with it anyway. If you're wondering, the word taoiseach refers to Ireland’s prime minister. Don't worry, I needed to look it up too!

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Quezada's run came to an end in the second round during the vocabulary portion on the word “protean,” but making it to nationals is no small feat. To get there, he first had to win the 2026 South Dakota State Spelling Bee back in February, outlasting the competition until round 19 by correctly spelling “arrearage.” A word most of us would avoid using even if autocorrect offered to help.

The state bee, held at Dakota Wesleyan University and sponsored by South Dakota News Watch, also featured some strong local competition. Pleroma Otang from Brandon Valley Intermediate School finished second, and Ashika Gupta from Dakota Valley placed third.

At the national level, competitors from all 50 states took the stage at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. When it was all said and spelled, 14-year-old Shrey Parikh from Rancho Cucamonga, California, claimed the championship title on Thursday, May 28.

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Parikh sealed the win by spelling 32 words correctly in a rapid-fire 90-second spell-off, finishing with the word “bromocriptine,” which sounds like it should be some type of prescription rather than a word used in a spelling bee.

His reward, by the way, was a cool $52,500 for showcasing his spelling skills. Not a bad payday!