Repeat winner takes first in Glendale Unified spelling bee

Since the Glendale Unified School District began hosting a districtwide spelling bee 40 years ago, fewer than five students have ever won the competition back-to-back.

Earlier this month, fifth-grader June Musurlian became the fourth student in those four decades to win the competition in two consecutive years, meaning R.D. White Elementary will continue to keep the winner’s trophy on display.

June is also poised to compete against dozens of other students in the Los Angeles County Spelling Bee on March 30.

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June won Glendale Unified’s elementary spelling bee on Feb. 1 after correctly spelling her final two words: baroque and arboreal.

When June won last year’s spelling bee, she became the third fourth-grader to win the competition at the district level, which has been sponsored by Soroptimist International of Glendale since 1977. The group gave June a medal, a dictionary and $50 for winning the district contest.

After her 2015 victory, June, a big fan of Harry Potter, went on to compete in the county spelling bee and finished in a seven-way tie for sixth place.

Now, she’ll compete in the countywide competition for the second time.

“I expect to do much better at the county competition this year,” she said in a statement.

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Kelly Corrigan, [email protected]

Twitter: @kellymcorrigan