38 fifth through eighth grade Alachua county students stepped up to the mic at the district spelling bee.

The bee came down to one word: geta, which according to the dictionary, is a Japanese flip flop. Something the champion, Pierce Tolar, 12, has never worn, but knows how to spell.

"Everybody else did their best, and it was really fun to compete like this," said Tolar.

The last three competitors included Tolar and Alexandra Ro, 11, Oak Hall Middle School and Meenali Patel, 11, Oak View Middle School.

Tolar is home-schooled in Gainesville, and will move on to the regional competition in Jacksonville in February.

The regional winner then advances to nationals in Washington D.C. Tolar says he and his mom studied over a thousand words to prepare for the spelling bee.