Children from 48 schools faced down Saturday to compete for a spot to represent their county in the National Spelling Bee in Maryland later this year.

The Hudson County Spelling Bee took place at the Secaucus High School's Arthur F. Couch Performing Arts Center.

The winner was Tian Hu, of Cornelia Bradford School in Jersey City.

Competitors ranged in academic year between first and eighth grade.

The first, easiest, round consisted of words like dairy, barley, opera and reckless. Organizers say this level generally consists of fourth- and fifth-grade vocabulary.

They say it is the second, multiple choice vocabulary round that eliminates many spellers.

The last dozen competitors faced college-level words, like “afflatus.”

The top 10 students received hardcover leather-bound dictionaries as a reward for their accomplishment.