Lux eighth-grader wins third LPS Spelling Bee

Eswar Ramamurthy, an eighth-grader at Lux Middle School, won the 32nd annual Lincoln Public Schools Oral Spelling Bee on Saturday. He also won in 2016 and 2017, making him the first three-time winner.

“I think it’s good I went out with a bang,” said Ramamurthy, who will attend Lincoln East High School next year.

He was among nearly 70 students in grades five through eight who competed in the spelling bee, held at Culler Middle School. Advait Singh, a sixth-grader at Scott Middle School, placed second, while Pound Middle School seventh-grader Eleanor Braatz came in third.

“Oh my gosh I was so nervous,” Singh said. “I am so happy.”

Ramamurthy’s winning word was “flauta,” a tortilla rolled tightly around a filling of some kind and deep-fried. It’s actually the fourth year in a row that a Ramamurthy has won; his brother, Sankar, won last year.

“We always support each other. I root for him and he roots for me,” Eswar said.

Some other examples of words from this year’s competition:

• Balustrade
• Unguent
• Vicarage
• Marjoram
• Gypsum
• Hackneyed
• Oleander
• Habitus

LPS co-sponsors the spelling bee with the Lincoln Journal Star.

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