RivCo Speller Journeys Through Scripps National Spelling Bee In 2025

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The Riverside County Office of Education is showing its pride in one local speller and star student. Victoria Li, the county's 2025 Spelling Bee Champion, who advanced in the competition to the quarterfinals, was eliminated in the sixth round on Wednesday, one of 16 spellers eliminated.

The Corona Norco Unified School District student, Victoria Li, also known as Speller #22 in the competition, has faced a variety of challenges on her way to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. A 6th grader, she was among the younger contestants.

Wednesday morning, Victoria — from the Rondo School of Discovery — correctly spelled the word "protreptic," and answered the vocabulary question for the word "gesticulate" in the Quarterfinals round, as "moving the body or limbs while talking," they announced. She was one of 73 spellers who advanced to the sixth round, when she fell from the list of competitors after incorrectly spelling the word "abligate."

Under the bee rules, spellers were grouped by their number of correct answers. The number of spellers advancing was determined by identifying the group whose minimum score resulted in as close to 100 quarterfinalists as possible.

Victoria was the 10th speller to take the stage at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center to start the fourth round.

"Spellers eliminated in this round finished in 58th place (tied), with 57 more advancing to the seventh round," according to the Bee. The competition is limited to students who have not have passed beyond the eighth grade or an international equivalent on or before Aug. 31, 2024 and who were born on Sept. 1, 2009 or later.

The bee was set to conclude Thursday, and the winner will receive $50,000 from the Scripps National Spelling Bee, $2,500 and a reference library from the dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster, $400 in reference works from Encyclopedia Britannica including a 1768 Encyclopedia Britannica replica set and a three- year membership to Britannica Online Premium.

This is the 100th anniversary of the first national spelling bee, which was on June 17, 1925, when the Louisville Courier-Journal invited other newspapers around the country to hold spelling bees and send their champions to Washington, D.C.

This is the 97th edition of the bee. There were no bees in 1943, 1944 and 1945 because of World War II and in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

During her run for the bee, Victoria correctly spelled morion -- a high-crested helmet with no visor -- in Tuesday's first round. In the second round, she was asked the vocabulary question, "What is cadence?" and correctly selected "vocal rhythm."

Victoria qualified for the national bee by winning the 47th annual Riverside County Spelling Bee in March, correctly spelling 'Tersanctus,' a hymn or invocation praising God as the thrice-holy deity, to end the nearly four-hour, 23-round competition.

The 11-year-old possesses a deep passion for reading, writing and archery and plays the piano and clarinet, according to biographical information supplied by bee organizers. In her free time, she likes to write poems and stories.

Victoria's favorite animal is the koala, and her favorite school subject is history. She aspires to become a pediatric surgeon to assist children in need of medical care.

Six Californians have won the national bee but none were from Riverside County.