By Richard Bammer

A fourth-grader and one of the smallest contenders, James Maravilla, 8, a student at Federal Terrace Elementary School in Vallejo, confidently spelled “vengeance.”

Facing off against James, Diego Gonzalez, 12, a sixth-grader at Callison Elementary School in Vacaville, then stumbled on the word “masquerade.”

At about 7:45 p.m., in the sixth round, one hour and 45 minutes after the 2018 Solano County Elementary Spelling Bee started, word pronouncer Dave McCallum of Vacaville, a well-known KUIC-FM personality and former Vacaville Unified trustee, then declared James as the top elementary speller in the county, prompting applause from families, friends, relatives and leaders from the Solano County Office of Education, sponsor of the 42nd annual event.

Source: Solano County Speller