Two win Yuba County Spelling Bee

It was only the second round of the annual Yuba County Elementary Spelling Bee on Wednesday, and Preston Debetaz, 12, a sixth-grader at Bear River School in Wheatland, leaned back in shock when he heard he had spelled "scrupulous" correctly.

Between that adjective and words like "fictitious" and "gymnasium" he spelled accurately in the final round, Preston was surprised when he beat nine others and won the bee at the Yuba County Career Prep Charter School in Marysville.

"I can't believe I spelled some of those words right," Preston said.

Marlee Carpenter, 14, an eighth-grader at Riverside Meadows School in Plumas Lake, defeated nine others to win her event despite not studying. But she said she reads a lot, which she said helped her.

Marlee said she has competed in her school's spelling bees ever since she could and advanced to the county contest for the first time this year.

"It feels great," Marlee said. "I didn't expect it, I guess. I thought I'd be out in the first round."

The students will represent Yuba County at their state competitions later this year. Preston will compete in Stockton on April 20 and Marlee in San Rafael on May 11.

Second-place finishers Dakota Butzback from Edgewater School in Linda will join Preston for the event. Rogan Rongley of Camptonville Academy in Marysville will also join Marlee.