A Canfield village middle school student is the champion of the 92nd annual 21 WFMJ regional spelling bee.

Daniele Lucia Pappalardo, a 7th grader, became champion after spelling 'tonada' correctly.

“It’s kind of like too good to believe, said Pappalardo. “I kind of was just like, really excited for it. I was just coming here to have fun and I like won.”

The spelling bee has been a tradition in the valley for 92 years. In 1934, the regional spelling bee started bringing students together with one purpose, to spell. 

The program allows students to learn the spelling, definitions, and origins of different words.

Nearly 70 students from public, private, parochial and charter schools across Mahoning and Trumbull Counties took part in the Regional spelling bee. Each student was the champion of their respective school's competition.

Pappalardo's family feel her lifestyle and culture played a role in her success.

“Her well rounded life, she's a musician, she has some latino culture. My wife would read to her  when she would read to her in Spanish, and she's learning how to pronounce things. So, that worked out well today. She had some music words, some Spanish origin words. It was a really fantastic way to show her talents,” said Daniel Pappalardo, father.

“We are so proud of her because she is very dedicated,” said Ruby Pappalardo, mother.

Runner-up Brienna Call from West Branch Middle School said while excited, she was also in shock. 

“I was like wow, and I was in shock,” said Call. “I thought I could win the school spelling bee, but I never thought I would win this one.”

Cassandra Mo from Maplewood Elementary School won third place.

Kent State Trumbull awarded a $2,000 scholarship to Pappalardo, a $1,000 scholarship to Call and a $500 scholarship to Mo.

Pappalardo will represent the valley at the 100th annual Scripps National spelling Bee in Washington D.C. The spelling bee will be taking place Memorial Day weekend.