BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD)- A Hanahan Middle School student is the new Berkeley County School District spelling bee champion!

After competing in multiple rounds, Siqi Fang was declared the winner in BCSD’s annual spelling bee competition held on Thursday night.

She correctly spelled “rabbinic,” “vespertine,” and “cyanosis” to make it to the championship round. She earned the title after successfully spelling “regurgitate” and “retinol,” according to the school district.

Fang said she was motivated by her performance last year, where she misspelled the word “silver” in the first round.

“I knew a lot of the words that were said, but I was still nervous,” she said. “A lot of other people are really good, so I was a little nervous that I would forget something. I practiced… There’s no way I would have gotten those (difficult words) by guessing.”

The top nine BCSD spellers, including Fang, advanced to the regional spelling bee which is scheduled for March at Charleston Southern University.

First, second, and third-place winners pictured with Superintendent Anthony Dixon (BCSD Photo/ Brian Troutman)

The Top Nine BSCD Finalists (sorted by school) are:

  • Berkeley Middle – Taylor Harrison and Olivia Nguyen
  • Cane Bay Middle – Allen Hagloch
  • College Park Middle – Miranda Moody
  • Daniel Island School – Alice Liao
  • Hanahan Middle – Siqi Fang
  • Marrington Middle SOA – Javin Bhajan
  • Philip Simmons Middle – Laura Perry
  • Sedgefield Middle – Lena Marino