A Vicksburg student finished fourth in the 2012 Mississippi Spelling Bee Tuesday, the highest finish of any local student in memory.

Jon Ruleo Bantugan, 12, a student at Warrenton Elementary School, celebrated with a meal in Jackson with his parents and sisters, said his mother, Jeane Bantugan.

“He’s happy he made it up to fourth place,” Jeane Bantugan said Tuesday afternoon after the family returned home. “Right now he’s excited to be seeing himself on TV, since we recorded it.”

Jon was one of 27 students from across the state who competed for the state honor.

“It’s just awesome,” said Sherry Garmon, the Bowmar Elementary School teacher who has coordinated the districtwide event for three years and run the school bee since she’s been at Bowmar.

Garmon said no local student had ever finished as high as fourth in the state bee. “To my knowledge, no, and I’ve been doing the spelling bee for at least 18 years.”

Jon lost on “muishond,” a type of African weasel, his mother said.

The state champion is Dev Jaiswal, a fifth-grade student at Winston Academy. Dev spelled the championship word mordacious in the 30th round of the bee and will advance to the 85th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., where he will compete against champions from every state in America, said Jerri McGee, Mississippi Spelling Bee coordinator.

Runner-up is Desiree Roby, a fifth-grade student from Christian Home Educators Connection in Hinds County. Desiree was eliminated in Round 29 with the word immiserization.

The Mississippi Spelling Bee was broadcast live on Mississippi Public Broadcasting.

The Mississippi Association of Educators has sponsored the event for four years and provides funds for the champion and one parent to travel to Washington, D.C. The National Spelling Bee is set for May 30-31.