Nerds. Computer geeks. Engineers in small frames.

You find one of these kids and you've probably come across a good speller. Perhaps even a speller good enough to be one of 34 entered into the 60th annual Albuquerque Tribune Regional Spelling Bee on Saturday at 9 a.m. in the Sandia Preparatory School theater, 532 Osuna Road N.E.

They all have something in common: Each was the winner a county spelling bee or an Albuquerque high school cluster bee. They are phenomenal spellers - the best 34 in New Mexico.

They also are a diverse group. They range in age from 9 to 14 and in grades fourth through eighth. They have different ambitions: becoming marine biologists, pediatricians or architects. They like sports, roller coasters and reading.

But only one will be named champion and receive a trip to Washington, D.C., for the Scripps National Spelling Bee on May 30 and 31.

If you've channel-surfed and landed on ESPN or ABC-TV in the days following Memorial Day, you've probably seen anxious kids sweating under klieg lights from the pressure of spelling words most of us have never used and wouldn't, even if we knew them.

Each of the spellers from 19 counties in central and northern New Mexico who has earned a spot at the regional bee is dipneumonous (having two respiratory organs), and one or two might be imbued with pyrrhotism (the condition of having red hair).

If they know those two words - and 150 to 200 of the same difficulty - they have a good shot at winning the regional bee and going to the national bee.

It's a safe bet many of the competitors will know at least that many words, and then some.

Three spellers are appearing in the regional bee for their second time: Gabriel Lim of McKinley County, Rajat Singh of Santa Fe County and Sierra Stackhouse of San Juan County.

One, Matthew Evans, an Albuquerque home-schooled 12-year-old, is competing in his fifth consecutive regional bee.

The advantage could be on the side of these four, but it also might not. As any speller will tell you, it all depends on your word.

Get one you know, and it's no problem. Get one you don't, and you have to make an educated guess.

These spellers, however, can make a better guess than most of their peers.

That's what makes all 34 champion spellers.

Here are the 34 spellers who will participate in Saturday's Tribune Regional Spelling Bee:

Rio Grande Cluster

Christian Armijo

Age: 11

School: Navajo Elementary

Grade: 5

Hometown: Albuquerque

Parents: Mark and Melissa Armijo

Winning word: defiant

Ambition: Writer, sports broadcaster

Special interests: Soccer, baseball, basketball, reading

San Juan County

Name: Olivia Bergh

Age: 11

School: Grace B. Wilson Elementary

Grade: 6

Hometown: Kirtland

Parent: Sandy Bergh

Winning word: diminish

Ambition: Wildlife or marine biologist

Special interests: Reading, clarinet, piano, singing, dancing

West Mesa Cluster

Name: Jared Brow

Age: 13

School: Bosque School

Grade: 7

Hometown: Albuquerque

Parents: Phil and Lisa Brow

Winning word: tomato

Ambition: Lawyer or architect

Special interests: Piano, swimming, reading, movies

Torrance County

Name: Mercedes Cantu

Age: 12

School: Estancia Elementary

Grade: 6

Hometown: Estancia

Parents: Frank Cantu Jr. and Dena Warren

Winning word: aliens

Ambition: Architect

Special interests: Drawing, TV

Colfax County

Name: Amanda Capozzelli

Age: 13

School: Eagle Nest Middle

Grade: 8

Hometown: Red River

Parents: Mark Capozzelli and Diane Maloney

Winning word: agnostic

Ambition: Lawyer

Special interests: Snowboarding, volleyball

McKinley County

Name: Jerilynn Charley

Age: 10

School: Thoreau Elementary

Grade: 5

Hometown: Thoreau

Parents: Nelvin and Victoria Charley

Winning word: chassis

Ambition: Teacher, doctor

Special interests: Reading, basketball, puzzles, writing

Taos County

Name: Patrick Denne

Age: 10

School: Peñasco Elementary

Grade: 5

Hometown: Peñasco

Parents: John Denne and Lael Hagen

Winning word: curfew

Ambition: Author, musician, cartoonist

Special interests: Cartooning, skiing, soccer

Rio Rancho Cluster

Name: Taylor Des Chenes

Age: 10

School: St. Thomas Aquinas

Grade: 6

Hometown: Placitas

Parents: Fred Des Chenes and Beverly Des Chenes

Winning word: reciprocate

Ambition: Chemist

Special interests: Model cars and planes, reading

Highland Cluster

Name: Margaret Downs

Age: 10

School: Holy Ghost Catholic

Grade: 4

Hometown: Albuquerque

Parents: Tom and Julie Downs

Winning word: hilarity

Ambition: Writer, veterinarian

Special interests: Piano, flute, gymnastics, reading

Albuquerque High Cluster

Name: Maya Durvasula

Age: 10

School: Manzano Day School

Grade: 5

Hometown: Albuquerque

Parents: Suguna Pappu and Ravi Durvasula

Winning word: patriarch

Ambition: Doctor

Special interests: Martial arts, making movies, cooking

Home School Cluster

Name: Matthew Evans

Age: 12

School: Home school

Grade: 7

Hometown: Albuquerque

Parents: Randy and Helen Evans

Winning word: sassafras

Previous participant: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006

Ambition: Pastor

Special interests: Piano, reading, rollercoasters, basketball

Sandoval County

Name: Matthew Fisher

Age: 11

School: Placitas Elementary

Grade: 5

Hometown: Placitas

Parents: Alex and Deana Fisher

Winning word: tongue

Ambition: Computer animator

Special interests: Guitar, trumpet, video games, art

Valencia County

Name: Nicolas Garcia

Age: 11

School: St. Mary's School

Grade: 6

Hometown: Tome

Parent: Lisa Garcia

Winning word: interfere

Ambition: Engineer

Special interests: Ballistics, drums

Valley Cluster

Name: Lena Guidi

Age: 11

School: Cochiti Elementary

Grade: 5

Hometown: Albuquerque

Parents: Armando Guidi and CeCe Guidi

Winning word: facetious

Ambition: Doctor

Special interests: Art, theater, science, history

Cibola County

Name: Austin Jones

Age: 12

School: Laguna Middle

Grade: 6

Hometown: Casa Blanca

Parents: David Castillo and Tiko Charlie

Winning word: tincture

Ambition: College

Special interests: Sports

San Miguel County

Name: Giavanna LaFerriere

Age: 13

School: Rio Gallinas Charter

Grade: 8

Hometown: Las Vegas

Parent: JoAnn LaFerriere

Winning word: stethoscope

Ambition: Psychiatrist

Special interests: Sports, reading, writing, spelling

Socorro County

Name: Gary Lam

Age: 12

School: Sarracino Middle

Grade: 6

Hometown: Lemitar

Parents: Larry and Denise Lam

Winning word: disguise

Ambition: Vice president of the United States

Special interests: Collect playing cards

Catron County

Name: Kayli Laney

Age: 14

School: Reserve Junior High

Grade: 8

Hometown: Luna

Parents: Russell and Lillie Laney

Winning word: android

Ambition: Pediatrician

Special interests: Painting, riding horses

La Cueva Cluster

Name: Sophia Li

Age: 13

School: Desert Ridge Middle

Grade: 8

Hometown: Albuquerque

Parents: Nein-Yi Li and Yueh-Tzwu Hwang

Winning word: animosity

Ambition: Doctor

Special interests: Music, swimming, reading

McKinley County

Name: Gabriel Lim

Age: 13

School: Gallup Catholic School

Grade: 8

Hometown: Gallup

Parents: Nelson and Maria Lim

Winning word: mayonnaise

Previous participant: 2006

Ambition: Surgeon

Special interests: RuneScape, reading fantasy books

Del Norte Cluster

Name: Liliana Malkoski

Age: 11

School: Home school

Grade: 6

Hometown: Albuquerque

Parents: James Malkoski and Denise Luna

Winning word: imprudent

Ambition: Marine biologist, movie critic, musician

Special interests: Video games, reading

Santa Fe County

Name: Molly Montgomery

Age: 9

School: Wood Gormley Elementary

Grade: 4

Hometown: Santa Fe

Parents: Andy Montgomery and Liz Lawrence

Winning word: arachnid

Ambition: Teacher

Special interests: Training assistance dogs, acting

Eldorado Cluster

Name: Anna Ochsankehl

Age: 13

School: Hoover Middle

Grade: 8

Hometown: Albuquerque

Parents: Mark and Karen Ochsankehl

Winning word: vehemence

Ambition: Sign language interpreter

Special interests: Violin, sign language

Lincoln County

Name: Colorado Romero

Age: 12

School: Capitan Middle

Grade: 7

Hometown: Capitan

Parents: Julian and Angel Romero

Winning word: trilogy

Ambition: Computer technology specialist

Special interests: Baseball, basketball, computers, video games

Mora County

Name: Terrence Romero

Age: 11

School: Mora Independent Schools

Grade: 5

Hometown: Cleveland

Parents: Charles and Dora Romero

Winning word: delicate

Ambition: Scientist

Special interests: Rodeo, skiing, soccer, reading

Guadalupe County

Name: Christopher Salas

Age: 13

School: Santa Rosa Middle

Grade: 8

Hometown: Santa Rosa

Parents: Joseph and Deborah Salas

Winning word: conclude

Ambition: Own a business

Special interests: Fishing

Valencia County

Name: Jared Sanders

Age: 11

School: Raymond Gabaldon Intermediate

Grade: 5

Hometown: Los Lunas

Parents: Robert Sanders and Jennifer Sanders

Winning word: interfere

Ambition: Game programmer

Special interests: Reading, video games

Los Alamos County

Name: Matthew Schauer

Age: 12

School: Chamisa Elementary

Grade: 8

Hometown: White Rock

Parents: Martin Schauer and Susan Schauer

Winning word: buoyant

Ambition: Computer programmer, chemist, move to Japan

Special interests: Computer programming, reading, origami, math

Santa Fe County

Name: Rajat Singh

Age: 10

School: Piñon Elementary

Grade: 5

Hometown: Santa Fe

Parent: Ganesh Singh

Winning word: kielbasa

Previous participant: 2006

Ambition: Engineer

Special interests: Baseball, video games, electronic kits

San Juan County

Name: Sierra Stackhouse

Age: 12

School: Mosaic Academy

Grade: 6

Hometown: Aztec

Parents: Jack and Elizabeth Stackhouse

Winning word: pharmacy

Previous participant: 2006

Ambition: Musician/composer, writer

Special interests: Composing, piano, writing

Sandia Cluster

Name: Chase Stewart

Age: 13

School: Our Lady of Annunciation

Grade: 8

Hometown: Albuquerque

Parents: Brian and Lori Stewart

Winning word: recurrence

Ambition: Graphic art designer, entrepreneur

Special interests: Electric bass, computer graphics, art

Rio Arriba County

Name: Natasha Trujillo

Age: 14

School: Mesa Vista Middle

Grade: 8

Hometown: Ojo Caliente

Parent: Angela Trujillo

Winning word: miscellaneous

Ambition: Veterinarian

Special interests: 4-H, FFA, reading, photography

Cibola County

Name: Kristopher Vallo

Age: 11

School: Laguna Middle

Grade: 6

Hometown: New Laguna

Parent: Traci Ray

Winning word: potpourri

Ambition: College

Special interests: Sports

Manzano Cluster

Name: Steve Wood

Age: 13

School: Roosevelt Middle

Grade: 8

Hometown: Albuquerque

Parents: Steve and Jamie Wood

Winning word: aliens

Ambition: Computer programmer

Special interests: Video games, reading