Since the third grade, Sukesh Kamesh was a familiar face at the Sunflower Spelling Bee in Wichita, Kansas, until last year when he didn't qualify. That was the motivation he needed to set a new goal for winning the regional bee in 2018. The seventh-grader from Kingman Elementary/Middle School did just that when he spelled "carboniferous" in a 27-round match.
Jake Gordy, a seventh-grader at Somerset Intermediate School in Westover, Maryland, lasted through 26 rounds of words to finally win with "morality" at the Maryland Eastern Shore Regional Spelling Bee. He placed third last year and was motivated to study to get another chance at winning. His mom said he's a voracious reader.
Hanna Yoshida, of K. International School Tokyo, took advantage of a second opportunity to win the ninth Japan Times Bee. The 14-year-old correctly spelled her championship word, "insubordinate." She credits studying the origin of words and lots of reading for helping her prepare for the competition.
Una VanWynsberghe overcame a misspelling in the final rounds of the 64th annual Journal Gazette Regional Spelling Bee in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, to come back and win for the third time. The eighth-grader from Lincolnview Junior-Senior High School in Van Wert, Ohio, missed on a championship word. On her second chance in a later round, she did not miss with "satyagraha."
In his first island-wide spelling competition Adrian James Beltran, did not expect to win, but he surprised himself by correctly spelling, "indentation." The seventh-grader from F.B. Leon Guerrero Middle School in Guam won the 46th annual Regional Spelling Bee, sponsored by Pacific Daily News. He is looking forward to coming to the mainland with his mom.
After placing third last year, Maanvi Sarwadi, a seventh-grader from Caravel Academy, was determined to win the Delaware spelling bee this year. After more than five hours and 28 rounds, she used her knowledge of rules for Greek words where "y" is used for the "i" sound to correctly spell "phyton."
Eighth-grader Daniel Doudna earned a return trip to the national finals and is carrying on the family tradition. The home-school student spelled “pistachio” to win the 25th annual Interior Alaska Spelling Bee in Fairbanks, Alaska. He won the competition last year, and his two sisters previously won in 2005 and 2015.
Gauri Vashisht, a sixth-grader at West Ridge Middle School, said she couldn't have won without her mom's help with studying. She spelled "attenuate" in Round 31 to win the Origin Bank All-Parish Spelling Bee in Monroe, Louisiana. She studied hard in hopes of finishing well, but winning was not her priority.
Liam Nyikos, an eighth-grader at Carlsbad Intermediate School in Carlsbad, New Mexico, hoisted his trophy proudly after winning for the third time in four years. He won the El Paso Times spelling bee by correctly spelling "systematically." His talents range beyond spelling. He's competing in a regional science fair, too.
Sai Lakkimsetti was runner-up last year to the youngest national finals competitor ever, Edith Fuller. This year, Sai is the one advancing to D.C. The 9-year-old from Southeast Elementary in Jenks, Oklahoma, spelled "bottine" correctly in the Green Country regional bee competition that lasted more than five hours and involved over 300 words.