Riya Joshi, a seventh-grader at Whitney Young Magnet High School's Academic Center, defended her title in the Chicago Public Schools Citywide Spelling Bee. All school bee winners in the area took an online assessment to determine the final 50 students who would participate in the onstage competition.
Sharanya Chatterjee, a sixth-grader from Hunter’s Creek Middle School in Orange County, Florida, was a first-timer at the Orlando Sentinel's 57th annual spelling bee. She clinched her victory by correctly spelling “Hanoverian.” She and her family moved to the United States from the United Kingdom three years ago. She is also quite the musician. She plays four instruments.
Torah Smith, a home-schooled student from Fitchburg, Massachusetts, stood at the microphone in disbelief when the pronouncer spoke her championship word. She didn't know it. She asked for all the clues and then correctly spelled "kiddush." She raised her arms in celebration as the crowd erupted in applause. She defended her regional title and will return to the national finals.
Allison Jones, a seventh-grader at Orleans Schools in Indiana, emerged from a field of 21 spellers to take championship honors at the Orange County Publishing Company's Great Spelling Bee. Her two final words were "newfangled" and "carnivore." An enthusiastic crowd cheered for the participants, recognizing the hard work that went into reaching this level.
The Kane County Spelling Bee came down to a battle between two fifth-graders. Pranav Kollu from Cambridge Lakes Charter School in Pingree Grove, Illinois, won the title and the trip to the national finals with "degage." Pranav said he paid particular attention to the word origins during his studies, and that knowledge helped him spell.
Neel Iyer, an eighth-grader from East Side Middle School in Manhattan, was the superior speller in the Daily News Annual Spelling Bee. He competed against 70 students from all five boroughs in New York City. His winning word was “rheology.” This was the 54th year for the event, which is sponsored by the city newspaper.
After 40 rounds, Oakridge Middle School seventh-grader Bharath Ram improved his second-place finish from 2017 to win the Collier County district spelling bee. He earned the trophy and the trip to the national finals with “fortification.” He said spelling is important to him, but he wasn't able to study much because of a different academic competition. That will change for nationals.
In the Tri-State Spelling Bee, spellers from New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania came together to spell it out on stage to see who would advance to the national finals. Lucas Tusinean, an eighth-grader from Dingman-Delaware Middle School in Dingman's Ferry, Pennsylvania, emerged as the champion, after correctly spelling “giraffe.”
A year away from the national finals was too long for Eric Kim, a sixth-grader from Wakefield Forest Elementary School in Fairfax, Virginia. So he's going back again, after winning the Fairfax County Spelling Bee. He has another chance to compete on the national stage. He correctly spelled "kibitzer" to win.
Johnathan Randall, a 12-year-old from Central Eleuthera High School in the Bahamas, is the country's top speller. He hesitated to compete for a third time in the 21st Bahamas National Spelling Bee, but his mother's encouragement convinced him. He said he feels honored to represent his country at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. His final word was "amphivorous."