STOCKTON – Jack Ford of Ripon will advance to the California State Elementary Spelling Bee Championships.

The sixth-grade student from Ripon Elementary was runner-up in the San Joaquin County Office of Education’s 16th annual Spelling Bee Championships on Wednesday.

Ford was edged out for the top spot by Annunciation School sixth grader Jill Rafert, who correctly spelled ‘saboteur’ in the fourth- through sixth- grade division.

Ford had a chance to win it in the ninth round but had trouble with ‘lasciviousness.’

The two will represent SJC and won’t have to do much traveling. The state event is scheduled April 20 at the SJCO complex. 

According to Tevani Liotard of Manteca Unified School District’s Elementary Education, Wisher Tabaco, who is a fifth-grade student at George Komure School, took sixth while Lathrop Elementary sixth grader Elizabeth Terra was ninth. Both were in the finals.

George McParland sixth-grade student Savannah Hudson, who was runner-up in the Manteca Unified Spelling Bee, also competed earlier in the week.

The top two finishers in seventh- through ninth- grade division were Tokay High freshman Julie Fukunaga and West High ninth grader Hanna Nakahara.

Fukunaga grabbed the top spot by correctly spelling ‘perambulation,’ in turn, beating out last year’s SJCOE winner Nakahara.

 The two advanced to the California State Junior High Spelling Bee Competition on May 11 at Miller Creek School in San Rafael.

The SJCOE event also included Lathrop Elementary eighth-grade student Justin Barber, Manteca High freshman Kassandra Diaz and Stella Brockman seventh grader James Quiaoit from MUSD.