Photo submitted to Times Observer Macy Winicki.

The Warren County School District representative to the Western Pennsylvania Spelling Bee made it to the finals.

Out of more than 100 spellers to reach the regional competition, Macy Winicki of Warren made it to the finals — the final 32 spellers. She finished just outside of the top 10, knocked out at 11th place.

Winicki, a seventh-grader at Beaty-Warren Middle School, is the two-time defending champion of the Warren County Bee. Her winning county word this year was ‘treacle.’

She will be eligible to compete again next year. The rules for the Scripps Spelling Bee allow students through eighth grade.

The regional event was held Saturday, March 9, at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh.

This year’s champion, winning on the word ‘penne,’ was Silvana Rocco, an eighth-grader from Dormont. Rocco will move on to the National Bee to be held in May in National Harbor, Maryland.