After having to fight for his first win last year, Blessed Sacrament seventh-grader Aiden Wijeyakulasuriya swiftly defended his All-City Spelling Bee title the second time around, pushing past his fellow top-three finishers in less than 10 minutes Saturday.
The awards presentation at the All-City Spelling Bee on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023.
The 12-year-old powered through the spelling of “milliner,” “comprimario,” and “amyloid” as he faced runner-up Jay Jadhav, seemingly keeping his cool until the very end.
“There’s a lot of mixed thoughts as you’re going up there,” Wijeyakulasuriya said after the competition. “What was going through my head was, ‘I never heard some of those words.’ What I do, I just focus on my breathing, focus on the word and just forget about what the outcome will be.”
Maybe that’s to be expected of a kid whose favorite word is “cynghanedd” — an intricate system of patterning of consonants, accents and rhymes.
Note that spending increases annually, with Madison taxpayers supporting at least $23,000 per student.
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