Countywide : Edison Student Wins County Spelling Contest

When Daryl S. Lee, 16, correctly spelled zephyrous and sesquicentennial at the Orange County High School Spelling Competition, it marked the third consecutive year in which someone whose last name is Lee has won the prize.

The streak began in 1987 when Daryl’s brother, Roderick N. Lee, won, followed in 1988 by Capistrano Valley High School’s Kyung M. Lee, who is not related to the brothers.

“It feels good to keep it in the family,” said Daryl, a sophomore at Edison High School in Huntington Beach, who has an A average.

“I was pretty happy,” he said of his victory Thursday night. “My teacher said if I won the contest she would give me an A in English; she gave me an A.”

Linda Carpenter, Daryl’s honors English teacher, explained: “He originally didn’t want to enter the contest because he’s a very shy boy. So I told him if he won the contest, I would change his grade to an A.”

Carpenter said that his grade for the semester stood at 89.5, or 0.5% away from the top grade.

Daryl won $125 as well as a trophy, which ironically spelled the month in which the competition was held as Febraury. Along with runner-up Casey Kile of Mission Viejo High School, Daryl will represent Orange County in the state finals spelling competition to be held April 22 in Orinda.