COEUR d'ALENE - Sarah-Jessica Sedy has a way with letters.

And lasting power, to boot.

The Woodland Middle School eighth-grader correctly spelled "keeshond" in the 40th round to win the ninth annual North Idaho Regional Spelling Bee on Saturday at North Idaho College.

Sedy outlasted Rebekah Pinkerton, a sixth-grade homeschool student from Coeur d'Alene and last year's contest winner.

The four-hour bee was the longest in the event's history by 15 rounds.

"When I heard Rebekah was coming back after last year, I didn't think that I had a chance," the soft-spoken Sedy said. "But I'm really excited that I won. I'm glad I kept focus."

Sedy earned an all-expense paid trip paid by The Press, the event's sponsor, to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., May 27-June 1.

Sedy has competed in previous bees at the district level, but this was her first time at the regional event featuring 45 fourth- through eighth-graders from the five northern counties.

"At my private school, I started to learn Latin and that helped," said Sedy, who attended a Lutheran school in Coeur d'Alene until the third grade.

Sedy said she studied for an hour or two every day except Sundays during the days leading up to the bee.

"I kept Sundays as a break day," she said.

In the 39th round, Sedy correctly spelled "bobbejaan" before Pinkerton missed "prosciutto", setting up the chance for Sedy to win.

Along the way, Sedy correctly spelled words such as "asthmogenic," "balalaika" and "rejoneador."

The final two were the only contestants left after the 26th round.

"Every year the poise and ability of the participants just blows me away," said Mindy Patterson of NIC, the event's coordinator. "The caliber of spellers gets better and better each year, as you could clearly tell from the intensity of this competition."

Sedy also received a dictionary, a $100 savings bond, a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica online student edition, a $20 Amazon.com gift certificate, plaque, medallion and a North Idaho College events pass.

Sedy's mother Vilma and sisters Ermina and Wesley were on hand to congratulate the winner after the grueling bee.

What is Pinkerton's advice for Sedy having been to the national event before?

"Study ... really, really hard," Pinkerton said.

No Idaho speller has made it past the third round at the national bee.

Andrew Stedman, an eighth-grade homeschool student from Rathdrum placed third and made it to the 26th round before tripping on "mihrab."

Sarah Chandler, an eighth-grader at Kootenai Junior/Senior High, placed fourth and Elissa Garrett, an eighth-grader who attends the private House of the Lord school, was fifth.

All participants from the 52 schools and 11 districts, including private school and home school divisions, received medallions and NIC events passes.