Submitted Photo From left to right, Cecile Wehrman, North Dakota Newspaper Association executive director; Chilaka Ugobi, North Dakota State Spelling Bee champion; Kohen Merkel, second place; Chaitanya Gopi, third place; Ember Lunde, fourth place; and Angela Herda, North Dakota Association of County Superintendents president, pose for a photo following the N.D. State Spelling Bee on Monday.

BISMARCK — Two Minot middle schoolers placed first and second at the North Dakota State Spelling Bee in Bismarck on Monday.

Chilaka Ugobi, a seventh grader at Our Redeemer’s Christian School, spelled his way to the championship, while Kohen Merkel, an eighth grader at Erik Ramstad Middle School, was the runner-up. Ugobi and Merkel finished first and second at the Ward County Spelling Bee in February. Chaitanya Gopi, a fifth grader from Dakota Montessori School in Fargo, took third, and Ember Lunde, a seventh grader from Bottineau Junior High School, finished fourth.

The State Spelling Bee began with 100 spellers representing 50 of the 53 counties in North Dakota, who all took part in a 50-word written spelling test and 20 question multiple choice vocabulary test. The students with the top 25 scores advanced to the oral spelldown session Monday afternoon. Ugobi and Gopi were both recognized for achieving a perfect score on the spelling portion of the written test.

Ugobi was declared the champion after correctly spelling words such as pagoda, Holstein, catalina, sabermetrics, possessive, crinoline and Vatican before correctly spelling “auspices” in the 10th round of the oral spelldown. Ugobi said he studied a couple hours daily to prepare for the State Spelling Bee.

“I studied the lists and went through all the words and wrote them out and defined each one. Then I studied the roots and word patterns and pieced together the words by first breaking them down and then using my knowledge of roots and word parts to piece them together,” Ugobi said.

Ugobi, the son of Dr. David and Helen Ugobi, will compete at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. from May 25-May 31. His prize includes airfare and lodging for two as well as an expense allowance for the trip. Ugobi also was awarded a trophy, gold medal, Barnes and Noble Gift Card, Bluetooth wireless speaker, the Samuel Louis Sugarman Award for a 2025 United States Mint Proof Set, and one year subscriptions to Britannica Online Premium and Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online.

“Every speller competing at the State Spelling Bee put in tremendous effort to get here,” said Miranda Streifel, North Dakota Spelling Bee director. “Their dedication and hard work have taken them far, and I’m so proud of their achievements.”