LYNN – The Lynn English High School Auditorium was filled with “intrigue” Friday night for the 19th Annual Regional Spelling Bee, as KIPP Academy Lynn eighth grader Kaylee D’Amico overcame a tough word early to top the competition and secure an all expense paid trip to the national finals in Washington, D.C.D’Amico capped off a week that started with an acceptance letter to Phillips Exeter Academy on Monday with her first spelling bee championship after correctly spelling the word “intrigue,” a verb meaning to arouse the interest or curiosity of something.”I am just extremely excited,” she said after the win, looking a bit shocked. “It hasn’t really set in yet.”D’Amico beat out 38 other contestants from Lynn, Swampscott, Lynnfield, Marblehead, Saugus, Nahant and Revere, but the victory was almost derailed in the previous round when she drew the word “Meistersinger,” a German noun used in the 15th and 16th centuries to describe a member of a guild formed for the cultivation of poetry and music.After a brief internal debate in front of the microphone, D’Amico stepped forward and spelled the word with confidence, advancing to the next round.”I had no idea, I have never seen that word before,” she said.Still riding high from her acceptance to Phillips Exeter, D’Amico’s father Aurelio said she dedicated herself to studying, but the two still had time to have a little bit of fun between homemade spelling quizzes.”I am proud, she makes me proud every day,” he said. “We did a lot of studying at home, between playing guitar hero and everything else of course, but she tries to study as much as she can. Tonight she showed up ready to play”D’Amico also credited her teacher at KIPP, Nicholas VanDerwerken, who helped her study for both her school spelling bee and the regional final, and made sure she was prepared for whichever word came her way. Although she will be leaving for Phillips Exeter in the fall, she says her school has been a major part in her academic success.”I love KIPP, I am always excited to be there, it is a great place,” she said. “I am happy to be here too, this is the best week of my life.”The 19th annual bee moved quickly and with little controversy, compared to last year when eventual winner Daniel Rosenberg was eliminated before a camcorder review forced judges to reverse the decision, as D’Amico posed for her championship photo just over 60 minutes after the spelling of the first word.Hillman Hollister of the Village School in Marblehead finished second, after failing to spell the word “penultimate” correctly, opening the door for D’Amico.Last year’s runner up Tara Morong, a fifth grader at the William R. Fallon Elementary School, finished third, suffering another heartbreaking loss after missing the word “ventriloquist” by just one letter.Marshall Middle School seventh grader Gabriella Gil finished fourth after misspelling “temperamental, followed by fifth place finisher Colleen Curtis, a Swampscott Middle School sixth grader, who misspelled “enunciate.”The top five finalists received a $50 savings bond and a new dictionary as consolation prizes.D’Amico said after the competition that she was going to celebrate by having dinner with her family, including her seven-year-old twin sisters Maya and Alayna, who are students at the Sewell-Anderson Elementary School.The 80th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee will take place in Washington, D.C. May 29 and 30. The Daily Item will follow D’Amico’s progress in the championship event.For a complete photo gallery from Friday’s Regional Spelling Bee at Lynn English, visit www.itemlivephotos.com.