{"id":172037,"date":"2026-02-27T21:48:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T21:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/172037\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T21:48:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T21:48:11","slug":"broward-county-spelling-bee-champion-heads-to-nationals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/172037\/","title":{"rendered":"Broward County spelling bee champion heads to nationals"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Maxine<\/p>\n

Maxine Williams kisses her son, Lancaster Gramer, 14, an eighth grader from Franklin Academy Cooper City, after he won the 86th Miami Herald Spelling Bee for Broward County at the Charles F. Dodge City Center on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Pembroke Pines, Fla. Gramer won the competition after correctly spelling the winning word, californium.<\/p>\n

Photo by Matias J. Ocner<\/p>\n

mocner@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n

A synthetic element from the periodic table sealed the deal for Lancaster Gramer on Wednesday, earning him his second championship title at the Miami Herald Spelling Bee for Broward County.<\/p>\n

\u201cCalifornium\u201d \u2014 the final word Lancaster spelled correctly \u2014 clinched the victory after eight rounds featuring 27 elementary and middle school spellers from across Broward.<\/p>\n

The word came from the off-list of words, meaning it wasn\u2019t included on the official study guide. But the periodic element didn\u2019t rattle Lancaster. With his knowledge that most periodic elements end in \u201cium,\u201d the 14-year-old eighth grader at Franklin Academy in Cooper City confidently said he was able to \u201cput two and two together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A A view of the winning word, californium, during the 86th Miami Herald Spelling Bee for Broward County at the Charles F. Dodge City Center on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Pembroke Pines, Fla. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

MORE: Miami-Dade County crowns new spelling bee champion<\/a><\/p>\n

This marked Lancaster\u2019s fourth time competing in the Miami Herald Spelling Bee. He also won the Miami Herald Spelling Bee in Broward in 2023 as a fifth-grader. Back then, his winning word was \u201csucc\u00e8s fou.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was his final year eligible to compete in the Herald bee \u2014 and he had unfinished business.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause it was my last year, and I wanted to at least win it one more time,\u201d he said after his victory. \u201cIt feels great \u2014 another opportunity to go to the nationals.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Lancaster kept composed. He misspelled just one word, \u201capostasy,\u201d in Round 6. Fortunately for him, fellow finalists Khadijah Iqbal of Pembroke Pines Charter Elementary School – Central and Reya Rakesh of Pompano Beach Middle School also stumbled during the round. Reya claimed third place, while Khadijah earned second.<\/p>\n

\"From From left to right: Khadijah labal, Lancaster Gramer and Reya Rakesh gather for a photo after participating in the 86th Miami Herald Spelling Bee for Broward County at the Charles F. Dodge City Center on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Pembroke Pines, Fla. Gramer won the competition after correctly spelling the winning word, californium. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

Next up for Lancaster: Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

Lancaster is headed to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, where he\u2019ll compete May 24\u201330. Four plane tickets, courtesy of LATAM and Delta, will send him to the national stage \u2014 another shot to spell his way into history.<\/p>\n

While his family was ready to celebrate, Lancaster said he had to make sure to study for biology, his current favorite subject.<\/p>\n

Eight intense rounds \"Klaue Klaue St. Fort, a fifth grader from Nova Eisenhower Elementary School, competes in the 86th Miami Herald Spelling Bee for Broward County at the Charles F. Dodge City Center on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Pembroke Pines, Fla. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

The 86th annual spelling bee at the Charles F. Dodge City Center in Pembroke Pines was filled up by 9 a.m. Wednesday, as nervous competitors and their families packed the venue.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting here was not easy,\u201d Bob McFarlin, an executive vice president of McClatchy Media, the Miami Herald\u2019s parent company, told the crowd from the podium. \u201cEach of you has already achieved something incredible. No matter what happens today, you\u2019ve proven your determination, your courage and your commitment to learning by competing in a spelling bee.\u201d<\/p>\n

The competition moved quickly. Four spellers were eliminated in the first round, with \u201choagies\u201d becoming the day\u2019s first misspelled word. Contestants continued to fall away one by one until only three remained at the end of Round 8.<\/p>\n

\"Huzaifa Huzaifa Goolsarran, an eighth grader at Nur Ul Islam Academy, reacts as he competes in the 86th Miami Herald Spelling Bee for Broward County at the Charles F. Dodge City Center on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Pembroke Pines, Fla. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

Lancaster, now a seasoned competitor, first became interested in spelling bees after his uncle showed him the comedy film Bad Words, said his father, Kenneth Gramer.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight after that movie is when he signed up,\u201d Gramer said, adding that the true story behind the movie \u201cAkeelah and the Bee\u201d solidified his interest in spelling.<\/p>\n

His mother, Maxine Williams, described her son\u2019s victory as \u201csurreal,\u201d especially given that a demanding school workload left him with less time to study than in previous years. He intensified his preparation in the final three weeks leading up to the bee.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has a love for language,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n

This marks the second time the family is heading to nationals. This year, they said, they hope to \u201cenjoy each day and cherish the memories,\u201d after feeling overly focused on competition during their first trip.<\/p>\n

The parents of third-place finisher Reya Rakesh, 13, said she maintained a strict study schedule, regularly using her favorite study tool, Word Club. Reya earned 10th place in last year\u2019s bee, saying she was relieved and happy with her top three finish.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I see the 4,000 words, it feels completely out of my range,\u201d said her mother, Neeta Pradhan.<\/p>\n

\"Ava Ava Thompson, an eighth grader from Sunrise Middle School, competes in the 86th Miami Herald Spelling Bee for Broward County at the Charles F. Dodge City Center on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Pembroke Pines, Fla. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

This story was originally published February 25, 2026 at 2:32 PM.<\/p>\n

Milena Malaver<\/a><\/p>\n

Miami Herald<\/p>\n

Milena Malaver covers crime and breaking news for the Miami Herald. She was born and raised in Miami-Dade and is a graduate of Florida International University. She joined the Herald shortly after graduating.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maxine Williams kisses her son, Lancaster Gramer, 14, an eighth grader from Franklin Academy Cooper City, after he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":172038,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[506,249,251,250,81799,4541,81801,81800],"class_list":["post-172037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-broward-county","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news","tag-lancaster-gramer","tag-miami-herald","tag-scripps","tag-spelling-bee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172037"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172037\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}