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After 11 tiring rounds under bright stage lights, 13-year-old Elozino Ahworegba won the 10th annual The Gazette & The Star Prince George's County Spelling Bee with the support of a crowd of family and friends.

"I thought I had a good chance of winning," said Elozino, an eighth-grader at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Beltsville. "I knew most of the words, but some came at me like a bullet."

The Beltsville resident was one of 28 middle school students vying for the trophy Friday night at the event, held at the University of Maryland, College Park, Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

After six rounds, the competition was whittled down to Elozino and Ciaran Dorland, an eighth-grader at Bowie Montessori Children's House, who volleyed back and forth for nearly 20 minutes aiming to claim the championship.

The competition between the two lasted so long that it took a few moments before judges and audience members realized Elozino had won, correctly spelling "sequitur."

After host and moderator, Dave Zahren, announced his victory, Elozino began jumping up and down, and a large group of family and friends cheered in the audience.

Second runner-up, Kaylah Grant, an eighth-grader at New Hope Academy in Landover Hills, made it to the fifth round, where she faltered on "vespacide."

Leading up to the final rounds, some of the more difficult words students stumbled on included rhetoric, neologism, feldspar and angstrom.

Along with a trophy, Elozino took home $500 from The Gazette, $500 from Bowie Town Center, $50 from Education Systems Federal Credit Union, two Webster's dictionaries, a one-year online Encyclopedia subscription, and three passes to shows at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Elozino will go on to represent Prince George's County in the Scripps National Spelling Bee held June 2 to 4 in Washington, D.C.

Elozino earned his spot in the county bee by beating 34 of his Martin Luther King Jr. Middle school classmates in a schoolwide spelling bee this year.

From there, Elozino began practicing during lunch breaks with his teacher Estrella Lumaban, a seventh- and eighth-grade reading teacher.

Lumaban was one of more than 15 friends and family members at the event Friday to support Elozino.

Zahren said Friday that no one from the Washington, D.C., area has ever won the spelling bee and wished Elozino luck in his adventure.

"I'm already scared," Elozino said, adding that he will continue practicing with Lumaban before the national bee.