Twelve spellers from around the Crossroads will duke it out at the 2013 Regional Spelling Bee.

Each day, we'll feature the co-champions from participating counties.

Monday's co-champions are from Jackson County: Jacob Lee Zarate of Edna Elementary and Pauline Negrete of Edna Junior High School.

If you can't make it to the competition, be sure to check out our live video from the event at VictoriaAdvocate.com.

Name: Jacob Lee Zarate

Grade: Second grade

Age: 7

School: Edna Elementary School

Past bee victories: None

Other student achievements: Jacob loves being active. He is a great student and excels quickly.

Hobbies: Video games, movies, friends, playing with his brother

Name: Pauline Negrete

Grade: Eighth grade

Age: 14

School: Edna Junior High School

Past bee victories: 2009-2013 school and Jackson County co-champion, 2010 county and regional champion, 2012 regional champion

Other student achievements: First and second grade - UIL spelling, first place; fourth grade - UIL spelling, second place; fifth grade - UIL spelling, third place; sixth grade - UIL spelling, first place; eighth grade - UIL spelling, first place

Hobbies: Reading, swimming

• Our Regional Spelling Bee Champion will receive: an all-expense paid trip (paid for by the Victoria Advocate) to Washington, D.C., to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee; Samuel Louis Sugarman Award Certificate, donated by Jay Sugarman; a one-year membership to Britannica Online Premium, donated by Encyclopaedia Britannica; and a Webster's Third New International Dictionary, donated by Merriam-Webster.

  The second-place winner will receive a Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition, donated by Merriam-Webster.

  [SOURCE: The Victoria Advocate]