HAYWARD -- Much to the "chagrin" of his fellow competitors, 6th grader Akshay Aitha won the Alameda County Spelling Bee Championship (Elementary division) and earned a spot in the state competition.

Akshay, who attends Fallon Middle School in Dublin, correctly spelled "iridescent" to break a tie and "chagrin" for the win.

In the Junior High School division, Neethi Bangalore, a 7th grader at Hart Middle School in Pleasanton, correctly spelled "annihilate" to break a tie and "effervescence" for the win.

Akshay and Neethi and 72 other students participated in the Spelling Bees, which were held March 15 and hosted by the Alameda County Office of Education.

The top four finishers in each division received trophies while the first- and second-place winners will represent Alameda County at the California Spelling Championships in May.

In the Elementary division, Akshay beat 42 other students and earned the first place trophy. Last year, Akshay came in second in the County spelling bee and went on to place fifth in the state spelling bee.

Also advancing to the state spelling bee is second-place winner Sahit Menon, a 5th grader at Fairlands Elementary (Pleasanton). Eric Chen, a 5th grader at Jensen Ranch Elementary (Castro Valley) placed third and Phoebe Lu, a 6th grader at Pleasanton Middle School (Pleasanton), placed fourth.

The state championships for elementary school students will be May 17 at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park.

In the Junior High division, Neethi beat 30 other students and earned the first place trophy. Last year, Neethi placed first in elementary division and went on to place second in state elementary spelling bee.

Going to the state championship along with Neethi is second-place winner Tiffany Kwan, a 7th grader at Canyon Middle School (Castro Valley). Mridula Dilip, an 8th grader at Harvest Park Middle School (Pleasanton) came in third, while Randy Yamanaka, a 7th grader at Pleasanton Middle School (Pleasanton) came in fourth.

The state championships for junior high school students will be May 10 at Miller Creek School, 2255 Las Gallinas Ave. in San Rafael.