HTA Līhu‘e 8th grader is the champion
Ethan shows off the state trophy with HTA Chief of Academics Traci Sullivan.
HTA Līhu‘e’s Ethan I. is the 2026 Scripps Hawai‘i State Spelling Bee Champion.
He clinched the win in March with the correct spelling of the word “impoverish.”
The next step? The national competition in Washington D.C. this May.
Ethan’s spelling bee path started back in grade 5. After taking a year off last year, he was back this year to place second at the Kaua‘i District Bee before securing the statewide win. He’s drawn by the challenge and the process of constant progress and improvement.
“Ethan has such a positive attitude and a sincere work ethic,” says Ms. Worley, the HTA teacher who mentors the campus spelling club. “The most impressive thing was seeing his growth and his dedication through this entire process.”
Ethan is known for his calm exterior, though he admits to internal nerves. During the competition, he uses all the tricks before spelling his words: asking for definitions, parts of speech, and countries of origin. On stage, he uses his finger to trace letters on his number placard before speaking them into the microphone.
A lot of it comes down to memorization, he says, and he also takes clues from where a word comes from.
“For example, Spanish ‘h’ is spelled with the ‘j,’ and French has a lot of silent letters,” he says.
Spelling is a family affair. Ethan’s father was a spelling bee participant during his own school years. His magic tip? Practice!
Ethan is looking forward to his first trip to the nation’s capital. He’s practicing hard, and he’s particularly looking forward to one of the event activities: he gets to spend a very cool night in the Smithsonian.
Congratulations and good luck, Ethan!
