HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Mu Zhen Yong, a fifth-grader from Nuckols Farm Elementary School, won Henrico County Public Schools’ Division-wide Spelling Bee on Tuesday.
The annual spelling bee has students from both elementary and middle schools compete against each other for the title. The district said Mu Zhen is the first elementary school student to win since 2014.
The 10-year-old won after making it 11 rounds of the bee, which was held at Glen Allen High School. She won the title by spelling the words “detritus,” “quorum” and “aromatherapy.”
The runner-up was Emi Brinegar, an eighth-grader from Tuckahoe Middle School.
Mu Zhen will represent HCPS at the Richmond Times-Dispatch Regional Spelling Bee. That winner will advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which is held the week of Memorial Day and aired on ESPN.
