H-A-R-A-N-G-U-E.
The word defined as “a lengthy and aggressive speech,” according to spell master Veray Wickham, won it for Bernice Lozada.
The freshman at Mountain House High captured the 2016 San Joaquin County Spelling Bee Championship, edging out Charlie Dao of Williams Middle School of Tracy in Junior High Division on Wednesday.
With that, Lozada advanced to the state finals in Marin during the spring.
Ashley Dillman of Ripon also competed in the field of 45.
“I was happy where I finished and thrilled just to be here,” said the seventh-grade student at Ripon Unified’s Park View Elementary School.
She placed in the Top 12, missing out on the word ‘genealogy.’
Ripon Christian eighth grader Caleb Terpstra finished not too far behind, bowing out with ‘sumptuous.’
Eighth-grade student Melanie Nguyen of Manteca Unified’s Brock Elliott Elementary School missed on ‘referendum.’
MUSD also had Jillian Urbano (Nile Garden) and Trinity Hillyard (George Komure) in the 20th annual event held at the San Joaquin County Office of Education’s Wentworth Education Center in Stockton.
Kallista Yan (Ripon Elementary) and Garrett Castro (Ripon Elementary) were the other RUSD representatives.
 Andra Htoo of the Next Generation STEAM Academy took the Elementary Division, topping Jordan Prawira Altamont Elementary School.
Nolan Marley of MUSD finished in the Top 12. The fifth-grade student at Walter Woodward had trouble spelling ‘prodigious.’
Christine Nguyen of Joshua Cowell lost out on ‘inertia.’
Marlon Montano (Neil Hafley) also competed from MUSD.