photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Maci Perrins, seventh-grader at Southwest Middle School, won her fourth consecutive Douglas County Spelling Bee on Feb. 14, 2026.

The Douglas County Spelling Bee always comes down to letters, but you couldn’t be blamed for taking note of a certain number when it appeared at Saturday’s event.

Maci Perrins entered the lobby of Billy Mills Middle School on Saturday morning to check in for the event that features the top spellers from each elementary and middle school in the county. Like all the contestants, she was asked to draw a number from a bowl to determine the order of the competition.

She drew No. 4. Maci, a seventh-grader from Southwest Middle School, was seeking her fourth consecutive Douglas County Spelling Bee championship.

A four-peat was in the air, and about an hour later it was on the stage.

Maci spelled the word aphasia — a type of neurological language disorder — to best 24 other spellers in an event that hasn’t exactly become routine but has become more familiar.

“The nerves definitely go away after being on stage for a lot of time,” Maci said.

Speak for yourself, young lady.

“The nerves are shot,” her mother, Kristi Perrins, said.

The Perrinses have had multiple children compete in the Douglas County Spelling Bee over the years. This is the family’s sixth championship in the county spelling bee, including the 2024 county bee when Maci beat her older brother Isaac. Another year, 2023, Maci won as a 10-year old, beating the runner-up, who was an eighth-grader that literally stood almost two-feet taller than the champion.

The range of ages of the competitors is one unique element to a spelling bee competition, but not the only one. The instant finality that can come at any moment is another. Unlike in basketball, for instance, where you may be behind but can still come back to win, the slightest of mistakes instantly ends a competitor’s chances.

“It changes in a second,” said Erik Perrins, Maci’s father.

Maci’s latest championship ensures the family’s roller coaster of nerves will continue. The county bee, organized by the Lawrence Journal-World, qualifies the winner to compete in the state spelling bee, which in turn is the qualifier for Scripps National Spelling Bee in May in Washington, D.C.

Maci finished tied for second in last years’s state championship. It was the second time that she has just missed out on qualifying for a trip to the national bee. She’s seeking to become the second member of her family to qualify for the national bee, joining her brother Ethan, who qualified in 2014.

As a four-time champion — while historical records aren’t abundant, Maci is believed to be the all-time leader in Douglas County spelling bee wins — she’s not mincing any words about what her intentions are moving forward.

“I have my eye on D.C. and nationals for sure,” Maci said.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Maci Perrins is pictured with her trophy for winning the 2026 Douglas County Spelling Bee on Feb. 14, 2026.

Bishop Seabury student Henry Apprill was the runner up in the bee, exiting on the word echelon in the 13th round, clearing the way for Maci to spell one final word and grab one more trophy.

It is not necessarily her last, though, at the county bee. As a 7th-grader, she has one more year of eligibility to compete in the county bee.

The other competitors in this year bee were: Chloe McLaughlin, Baldwin Junior High; Travis Evers, Baldwin Intermediate Center; Yaretzi Ortega, Billy Mills Middle School; Clara Klein, Cordley Elementary; Trinity Misko, Corpus Christi Catholic School; Liam Beatty, Deerfield Elementary; Chazley Thomas, Eudora Elementary; Myra Gurney Eudora Middle School; Julia Howard, Hillcrest Elementary; Luca Martin, Langston Hughes Elementary; Kendall Clark, Lawrence Virtual School; Jeremy Cobler, Liberty Memorial Central Middle School; Silas Barforoush, New York Elementary; Poppy Scherbarth, Prairie Park Elementary; John Vosos, Quail Run Elementary; Theodore Wegmann, Raintree Montessori School; Regina Avila Flores, Schwegler Elementary; Arlo Stehman, St. John Catholic School; Lucia Allen, Sunflower Elementary; Kyser Mullinix, Sunset Hill Elementary, Hudson Dawes, Veritas Christian School; Alayna Terfler, West Middle School; and Pearl Peltzer, Woodlawn Elementary.

Judges for the sanctioned event were area educators Lori-Kay Rabiola, Sam Rabiola and Neal Ballard. The pronouncer was Lisa McLendon, a journalism professor and coordinator of the Bremner Editing Center at the University of Kansas.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

The 25 participants in the Douglas County Spelling Bee are pictured on Feb. 14, 2026.