EDUCATION

Desert Canyon student spells his way to SUSD championship

Desert Canyon Middle School seventh grader Camden Hernandez won the Scottsdale Unified School District Spelling Bee. He will be one of six district students to participate in the regional competition.

(Courtesy Courage Ahiati/Wikimedia Commons)

Camden Hernandez, a seventh grader from Desert Canyon Middle School, outlasted a field of 23 competitors to claim the 2026 Scottsdale Unified School District Spelling Bee Championship.

The competition began with the word “language” and steadily narrowed to a final three competitors before Hernandez ultimately secured first place with the word “minestra,” according to a press release.

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