Bella Van of MacArthur Middle School wins Anne Arundel spelling bee

Bella Van, a seventh grader at MacArthur Middle School, won the 35th annual Anne Arundel County Spelling Bee held Saturday afternoon at the Parham Building at the Anne Arundel County Board of Education.

Van correctly spelled the word “obloquy,” which means “strongly condemnatory utterance,” in the 13th round to win the AACPS Spelling Bee championship.

She is the second consecutive MacArthur student to win the Anne Arundel County Spelling Bee, according to spokesperson Bob Mosier. Sélah Sutton took the title last year. 

Van will represent Anne Arundel County at the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee held in National Harbor Memorial over Day weekend, according to the national bee’s website.