FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Denver, CO, April 6, 2024
2024 Concurso de Deletreo Colorado State Spanish Spelling Bee Crowns 2024 Colorado State Champions
Jorge García, Director of the Concurso de Deletreo State Spanish Spelling Bee is thrilled to announce the overall state champions as well as grade level champions in grades 3-8. Thirty-eight contestants from across Colorado came together on April 6, 2024, at Regis University to compete for nine state championships in Spanish spelling. In addition to Regis University the Concurso was sponsored by CO-CABE (Colorado Association for Bilingual Education), The BUENO Center for Multilingual Education, CO-ALAS (Colorado Association of Latino/a Administrators and Superintendents), and the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Colorado, Denver.
The Overall State Championship went to Merlina Rojas, eighth grader from Angevine Middle School in Lafayette. Merlina, who was competing in her first state Spanish spelling bee, competed in a field of 38 school champions. Her first-place finish in the state qualified her to compete in the National Spanish Spelling Bee to be held in El Paso, TX in June. She said that she is excited to represent Colorado in the National Spanish Spelling Bee and will be in El Paso with her younger sister and her parents, Emilce Alejandra Giacomini and Álvaro Tomás Rojas. Her coach, Laura Pereyra, is a Dual Language Teacher at Angevine. Merlina was also crowned the 8th Grade Champion.
The Second-place State Champion, Overall, was Emma Domínguez de la Torre Martínez, also an eighth grader, from Telluride Middle School in Telluride. She was coached by her mother, María Martínez del Campo who is a teacher in the Dual Immersion Program at Telluride Intermediate School. Emma is also qualified to represent Colorado in the National Spanish Spelling Bee.
Third place, overall, ended in a tie between the 4th Grade Champion, Alice Sofía Domínguez Ontiveros from Kemp Elementary School in Adams 14 School District in Commerce City and Benjamin Thiessen, the 6th Grade Champion from Foster Dual Language PK-8, Jeffco School District. Foster Dual Language PK-8 is also home to another state championship with Damián Valero Rojas earning the 7th Grade Championship.
Kemp Elementary School in Adams 14 also had two state championships. In addition to the 4th Grade Champion, Alice Sofía Domínguez Ontiveros, Kemp had the 5th Grade Champion, Jesús González-Huizar.
The 3rd Grade Championship went to Sophia Wilmsen from Academia Ana Marie Sandoval de Lenguaje Dual Montessori in Denver Public Schools.
The Concurso de Deletreo Colorado State Spanish Spelling Bee (concursocolorado.org) is an all-volunteer nonprofit Colorado organization dedicated to empowering, engaging, and educating Spanish speaking students by providing opportunities for their academic and personal growth. We are educators, parents, community leaders, and businesspeople from all over the state.
Contact Information
Jorge García
jorge@concursocolorado.org
