Lafayette 6th Grader Heading To National Spelling Bee In D.C.

One Lafayette girl is heading to the 93rd Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee after correctly spelling the word, "welterweight," for the judges.

Six-grader at John Paul the Great Academy, Beatrice Long tells the Daily Advertiser she never heard the word before, but figured out the spelling after hearing it used in a sentence about wrestling.

According to the newspaper, this is Long's third time to compete in the regional spelling bee, her third time to take home a prize, but only the first time to win a chance to compete at the national level.

Long will represent Acadiana at Nationals on May 24th.