Duaa Ouznali’s winning word was ‘droshky.’ Her strategy for studying spelling, she says, is ‘listening to the words a lot.’

Ouznali endured nearly 30 rounds of spelling and vocabulary confrontations; she ultimately won the competition after correctly spelling "droshky," which is defined as a public carriage used in Russia.

Duaa Ouznali from Bright Horizon Academy will represent the county at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. in May.

Feb. 27, Matthew Haller, an 8th grade student at Horizon Prep in Rancho Santa Fe, competed with 25 other students in the ACSI Western Division Spelling Bee. The students represented

Duaa Ouznali, an 8th grader from Bright Horizon Academy, joined ABC 10News anchors Jared Aarons and Melissa Mecija on set following her victory in the Scripps Regional Spelling Bee for San Diego County.