Braedyn Fehl, a student at Anasazi Elementary School in Scottsdale, was selected the fourth grade grand national champion in the 32nd annual Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest. That means Fehl had the best cursive handwriting among all of the fourth grade entries from across the country.

Anasazi Elementary School will be honoring Fehl at an assembly 1:45 p.m. on Friday, April 28 at 12121 N. 124th Street in Scottsdale, according to a press release.

Winners of this year’s Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest hail from 16 states — from Virginia to California — showing the enduring value of studying manuscript and cursive.

The contest is one of the longest-running and best-known competitions of its kind in the United States, attracting close to 80,000 students each year in kindergarten through eighth grade, the release stated.

Along with the competition, contestants reap the cognitive benefits that stem from the handwriting process. Writing by hand engages more of the brain and enables better recall than using a keyboard. In the earliest grades, learning to write letters by hand helps children learn to recognize them more quickly.

“Research tells us what handwriting can do to support cognitive development and better academic outcomes,” Zaner-Bloser President Lisa Carmona said in the released. “That’s why we’re committed to recognizing those schools that encourage the use of manuscript and cursive, and the students who work so hard to master it.”

Each year, 20 winners are chosen, including one grand national champion and one national semifinalist in each grade. In addition, the Nicholas Maxim Award is given to two students with cognitive, intellectual, physical or developmental disabilities who excel in manuscript or cursive.

Winners are tested starting at participating public and private schools throughout the country. Schools choose their own winners, who then advance to their respective state-level competitions.

State winners advance to the national competition, where judges select nine grade-level grand national champions and nine grade-level semifinalists. Since the contest began in 1991, about 2.5 million students have participated, according to the release.

All students write the required sentence “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” because it contains every letter of the alphabet. Judges select winners based on Zaner-Bloser’s four keys to legibility: Shape, size, spacing and slant of the letters.

Each grand national champion receives an engraved Zaner-Bloser trophy and a $500 check. Their schools receive a $1,000 Zaner-Bloser product voucher and a certificate of achievement handcrafted by master penman Michael Sull. The winners’ teachers also receive a handcrafted, personalized certificate.

Each semifinalist receives an engraved Zaner-Bloser trophy. The semifinalists’ schools and teachers receive certificates of achievement handcrafted by master penman Michael Sull.

The Nicholas Maxim winners will each receive an engraved Zaner-Bloser trophy and a $500 check. Their schools will each receive a $1,000 Zaner-Bloser product voucher and a personalized certificate handwritten by master penman Michael Sull.

2023 Grand National Champions:

• Kindergarten: Hunter Chappel, Joe Walker Elementary School, Washington, Pa.
• First grade: Ainsley Vitkoski, Lehman-Jackson Elementary School, Lehman, Pa.
• Second grade: Audrey Clemente, Valley Christian Academy, Santa Maria, Calif.
• Third grade: Jasmine Nguedjam Mbianda, Prairie Vista Elementary School, Granger, Ind.
• Fourth grade: Braedyn Fehl, Anasazi Elementary School, Scottsdale, Ariz.
• Fifth grade: Lexi Pham, St. John the Evangelist Catholic School, Hapeville, Ga.
• Sixth grade: Freya Mojica, St. Joseph School - Fullerton, Baltimore, Md.
• Seventh grade: Daisy Almaraz, Sacred Heart Academy, Winchester, Va.
• Eighth grade: Lauren Hand, St. Pius V School, Melville, N.Y.

2023 National Semifinalists

• Kindergarten: Kinsley Tholen, Seashore Learning Center, Corpus Christi, Texas
• First grade: Clarisa Centeno, Incarnate Word Academy, Corpus Christi, Texas
• Second grade: Thea Smith, Red Rock Central Elementary School, Lamberton, Minn.
• Third grade: Irene Ma, Valley Catholic Elementary School, Beaverton, Ore.
• Fourth grade: Mason Kluck, St. Peter Lutheran School, Schofield, Wis.
• Fifth grade: Azlynn Florence, Sacred Heart School, Cullman, Ala.
• Sixth grade: Brielle Plotz, Murray County Central Elementary School, Slayton, Minn.
• Seventh grade: Ioana Oprea, Saint Herman of Alaska Christian School, Allston, Mass. 
• Eighth grade: Victor Young, Reid School, Salt Lake City, Utah

Nicholas Maxim Award Winners

• Manuscript: Andrew Clevenger, Corpus Christi Catholic School, South Bend, Ind.
• Cursive: Evelyn Thompson, Kirk Day School, St. Louis, Mo.