Smithtown Spelling Star Returns To National Competition

SMITHTOWN, NY — Olivia Lipiec, an eighth grader at Accompsett Middle School, has reached the Scripps National Spelling Bee for the second consecutive year, the Smithtown School District announced.

Lipiec advanced after a three-hour regional competition held virtually on March 8. Her winning word was "bacchius." A bacchius is a type of metrical foot; a unit of rhythm in poetry, consisting of three syllables.

This is the second year in a row Lipiec has made it to the national competition, which will be held in the Washington, D.C. area this May.