North Idaho speller places 173rd in national bee

Kayla Tenney Villalobos, an outgoing eighth grader from Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy, tied for 173rd place in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Kayla went out in the first round after misspelling "temalacatl," which is a platform used by ancient civilizations for making offerings to deities. She made her way to the national bee after spelling "Taiwan" in the championship round of the 2023 North Idaho Spelling Bee in February.