NOBLESVILLE, Ind. — A confident Vaibhav Vavilala didn’t need a “magus” to earn his fourth title of the Hamilton County Regional Spelling Bee tonight.

That was the word, which means magician or sorcerer, the eighth-grader at Creekside Middle School in Carmel needed to spell correctly to win the bee, which started with 29 contestants.

“I was lucky I got words that I’ve seen before,” said the 13-year-old Indianapolis boy, who spelled every word in his head as other spellers were given their words.

He was the county’s first fourth-grade spelling bee champion in 2005. He also won the spelling bee in 2007 and 2008. The only year he competed and didn’t win the contest was in 2006. That year’s winner was Vikas Vavilala, Vaibhav’s older brother, now 16, and their mother Lakshmi Vavilala were among about 175 people in the audience for the bee at Hazel Dell Elementary School in Noblesville.

“My heart was pounding. Was he going to say a “c” or an “s?” the mom asked herself as she watched and listened to her son spell a total of 10 words that would win him the bee and send him to the Scripps National Spelling Bee May 25-31 in Washington, D.C.

Her son attributed his win to not only luck and hard work but patience. For every spelling word he was given in the nine rounds, he asked for the definition and origin. He spoke slowly and with confidence. “I didn’t want to make any mistakes,” he said.

Marie Hughey, a fifth-grader at Hughey Home School in Fishers, placed second and Pearl Brooks, an eighth-grader at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, placed third. Hughey was eliminated in Round 8 after misspelling “tartarus.” Brooks was eliminated in Round 6 after misspelling “steganopodous.”

The event was open to students in Grades 5-8. The regional bee is sponsored by The Indianapolis Star.