Cooper Campen, a homeschool student from Alachua County, won the 2026 Alachua County Spelling Bee on Wednesday and became the first student to win the competition three years in a row.

Campen, an eighth grader, battled 43 spellers from 39 schools on Wednesday at Littlewood Elementary School in Gainesville. The competition lasted 38 rounds, and the final word was “calabash.”

Eighth-grader Isabella Mendoza of The Frazer School finished in second place and fifth-grader Ethan George of Hidden Oak Elementary took third place.

Campen won the 2025 Alachua County Spelling Bee in 34 rounds by defeating The Frazer School’s Armaan Vora. He earned his first title in the 2024 Alachua County Spelling Bee.

Campen will now attend the 82^nd Annual First Coast Regional Spelling Bee in Jacksonville on Friday, Feb. 27. The regional spelling bee winner will advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which will be held on May 26-28 at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.

The 14-year-old homeschooler also earned national recognition at the America 250 – The Great Debate National Civics and Debates Championship, held from Jan. 16-19 in Orlando, where he claimed the Middle School Impromptu Speaking title and finished fourth overall in the Middle School Division.