Granite Bay 5th-grader wins state spelling bee

Can you spell "datiscaceae"? How about "lagniappe" or "walpurgite"? Many of us would struggle to spell those words, let alone know what they mean, yet those were some of the words in the final round of the 2025 California State Spelling Bee, and a fifth-grader from Placer County came home the champion of his age division. Ryan Sekera of Ridgeview Elementary in Granite Bay won the elementary division for fourth- through sixth-graders. Some of the best spellers from counties across the state converged at Great Wolf Lodge in Manteca to take part in the event last Saturday, April 26. It was hosted by the San Joaquin County Office of Education. There were 45 students in the elementary division and 44 students in the seventh- through ninth-grade junior high championship. This was a written bee, meaning competitors were given the same word to spell simultaneously; then checkers came by to see who got the word right or wrong. Competitors were allowed two misses before they were eliminated. Asked if there was any word he particularly struggled with, Ryan said it was one that doesn't seem that challenging, but he just wasn't fully confident. "This bee, the word I struggled with was 'kimono.' I was pretty sure I knew it, but I was having a lot of second thoughts," said Ryan. Ryan tackled more complicated words, such as Rhizome, which he said many other kids got wrong. Asked why he's such a good speller, Ryan said he works really hard but also may have an innate ability to visualize how words should be spelled. "If I look at something a bunch of times, I can envision it in my mind," Ryan said. Apparently, being triumphant in spelling bees is a family affair: Ryan's older sister, Priya, was runner-up in the same spelling bee two years in a row. Their father, Matt Sekera, laughs as he says he's certain the kids didn't inherit spelling talent from him, but they both clearly have a strong work ethic. "They've always read a bunch and they study for it," Matt Sekera said. "They pick it up really easily. And there's lots of word lists out there, so they enjoy just studying the lists." Ryan said many of the kids don't know the definition of most words they spell in these bees, but he enjoys learning definitions and expanding his vocabulary horizons. Ryan's father said it's this whole learning process he really appreciates about the world of spelling bees. "I'm super proud of all the hard work they put in," Matt Sekera said. "It's really cool all the words they've learned from all areas of everything really, from history to minerals and plants to medicine, furniture, food. It's kind of cool with all kinds of stuff that they learn about." Ryan brought home a nice big championship trophy, and bragging rights. It's an accomplishment he will always remember. "I'm pretty proud of what I did," said Ryan, sounding quite humble. Now that the bee is over, Ryan is back to his other passion: Baseball. He also loves soccer and playing piano and clarinet. Ultimately, Ryan is just like any other 10-year-old; he just also happens to know how to spell "Rhizome" which, by the way, is an underground plant stem.