The Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) announces the winners of the 2026 Los Angeles County Regional Spelling Bee. After 10 intense rounds, reigning champion Oliver Halkett, 8th grader from Mirman School, prevailed again as this year's champion. Oliver correctly spelled his opponent’s missed word, “marasmus” and then also correctly spelled the next word, “neufchâtel” to win.

Olive O’Brien, 8th grader from WISH Community School, secured second place and Elyssa Chen, 5th grader from El Segundo USD, rounded off the top three. Elyssa's Beeadventure ended when she misspelled the word "samadh.”

2026 L.A. County Spelling Bee Winners 

• 1st: Place: Oliver Halkett, Mirman School (8th grade) 
• 2nd Place: Olive O’Brien, WISH Community School (8th grade)
• 3rd Place: Elyssa Chen, El Segundo USD (5th grade)

This year's competition, held at Almansor Court in Alhambra, showcased the linguistic expertise of 40 spellers from public, private and charter schools, as well as home school organizations, across the county. The event was extra sweet this year as LACOE is able to sponsor the top three winners and a parent to go on to compete at the State and National competition. This experience is generously being sponsored though a grant from the Greater Los Angeles Education Foundation.

Oliver and Elyssa will go on to represent L.A. County at the California State Spelling Beeon Saturday, April 25, 2026. We wish them the best of luck! 

All three L.A. County Regional Bee winners, Oliver, Olive and Elyssa, will represent L.A. County at the Scripps National Spelling Bee the week of May 26-28 in Washington, D.C.

The Los Angeles County Regional Spelling Bee is an annual event that brings together the brightest young spellers from across the County. This year's competition was a testament to the dedication and hard work of all participants, and LACOE extends its heartfelt congratulations to the winners. 

For more information, visit LACOE Spelling Bee webpage.