who will bee our next champion?
Watch the two-night event on ION,
May 31 & June 1 at 8/7c
Television Schedule
preliminaries
Tuesday, May 30
9 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. et
Watch
on
on
quarterfinals
Wednesday, May 31
8 a.m. - 1 p.m. et
Watch
on
on
semifinals
Wednesday, May 31
8 - 10 p.m. et
Watch
on
on
finals
Thursday, June 1
8 - 10 p.m. et
Watch
on
on
find ION in your area
Meet the Spellers
1
Stephen Briscoe
age 14 | grade 8
Alabama Kiwanis Foundation
Birmingham, Alabama
2
Lucas Parker
age 14 | grade 8
Anchorage Daily News
Anchorage, Alaska
3
Sydney Seavey
age 12 | grade 6
Fairbanks North Star Borough School District
Fairbanks, Alaska
4
Opal Mishra
age 12 | grade 6
Arizona Educational Foundation
Phoenix, Arizona
5
Karen Opoku-Appoh
age 14 | grade 8
Arizona Educational Foundation
Scottsdale, Arizona
6
Tazbah Spruhan
age 13 | grade 8
Navajo Times Publishing Company
Window Rock, Arizona
7
Zeeshan Anower
age 10 | grade 5
Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas
Jacksonville, Arkansas
8
Jean Bounkousonh
age 14 | grade 8
KERO Channel 23
Bakersfield, California
9
Dhruv Subramanian
age 12 | grade 7
San Ramon Valley Rotary Club
San Ramon, California
10
Justin Tran
age 13 | grade 8
SNSB California Regional Bee
Diamond Bar, California
11
Julia Murillo-Nuñez
age 12 | grade 6
Imperial County Office of Education
El Centro, California
12
Leo Wu
age 11 | grade 5
The Office of the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools
Fresno, California
13
Aaron Lim
age 14 | grade 8
The Orange County Register
Irvine, California
14
Avi Randhawa
age 12 | grade 7
Riverside County Office of Education
Riverside, California
15
Morgan Harms
age 12 | grade 6
Monterey County Office of Education
Salinas, California
16
Phoebe Laguna
age 10 | grade 5
San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools
San Bernardino, California
17
Jup Singh
age 13 | grade 8
San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools
San Bernardino, California
18
Mihir Konkapaka
age 12 | grade 7
The San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego, California
19
Vikrant Chintanaboina
age 14 | grade 8
San Ramon Valley Rotary Club
San Ramon, California
20
Shradha Rachamreddy
age 13 | grade 7
San Ramon Valley Rotary Club
San Ramon, California
21
Arth Dalsania
age 14 | grade 8
SAGE Publishing
Thousand Oaks, California
22
Sarvadnya Kadam
age 12 | grade 6
Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register
Visalia, California
23
Eleanor Jeavons
age 13 | grade 7
ECU Regional Bee
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
24
Chuxia Huang
age 13 | grade 8
Cape Breton University
Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada
25
Isaac Brogan
age 11 | grade 5
WFCU Credit Union
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
26
Sofia Tommey Wu
age 10 | grade 5
Boulder Valley School District
Boulder, Colorado
27
Aditi Muthukumar
age 12 | grade 7
The Denver Post
Denver, Colorado
28
Nathan Settevendemie
age 11 | grade 6
Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society
West Hartford, Connecticut
29
Declan Durand
age 11 | grade 5
Sussex County Public Libraries
Georgetown, Delaware
30
Zion Miller
age 14 | grade 8
Seaford District Library, Inc.
Seaford, Delaware
31
Jerald Jude Campana
age 13 | grade 8
The Washington Informer
Washington, District of Columbia
32
Lesly Hernandez Martin
age 14 | grade 8
The Washington Informer
Washington, District of Columbia
41
Sumayya Ahmad
age 11 | grade 6
Envision Credit Union
Tallahassee, Florida
42
Bruhat Soma
age 11 | grade 6
SNSB Region One Bee
Tampa, Florida
43
Sai Lakkimsetti
age 14 | grade 8
Georgia Association of Educators
Tucker, Georgia
44
Matthew Baber
age 13 | grade 7
Georgia Association of Educators
Tucker, Georgia
49
Sophia Chan
age 13 | grade 7
Hawaii State Spelling Bee
Honolulu, Hawaii
50
Eliana Castro
age 14 | grade 8
Boise State University
Boise, Idaho
51
Kayla Tenney Villalobos
age 14 | grade 8
Idaho Character Foundation
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
52
Navtaj Singh
age 12 | grade 6
Lewiston Tribune
Lewiston, Idaho
53
Annette Chu
age 13 | grade 7
SNSB Illinois Regional Bee
Chicago, Illinois
54
Lukas Nowak
age 12 | grade 6
Will County Regional Office of Education
Chicago, Illinois
55
Emme Whitebone
age 13 | grade 7
Pepper Construction and Wight & Company
Chicago, Illinois
56
Srinidhi Rao
age 13 | grade 7
ComEd and Tyndale House Publishers
Chicago, Illinois
57
Steven Jiang
age 13 | grade 8
Chicago Public Schools
Chicago, Illinois
58
Khadijah Abdul-Rahman
age 14 | grade 8
Macon-Piatt Regional Office of Education
Decatur, Illinois
59
Arlenn Lesko
age 13 | grade 7
DeKalb Regional Office of Education 16
DeKalb, Illinois
60
Mason Coulthard
age 12 | grade 6
Carroll/JoDaviess/Stephenson Regional Office of Education
Freeport, Illinois
61
Francis Nnodi
age 14 | grade 8
Kane County Regional Office of Education
Geneva, Illinois
62
Julissa Negron
age 13 | grade 8
Boone-Winnebago Regional Office of Education
Loves Park, Illinois
63
Vishrut Kinikar
age 13 | grade 7
McHenry County Regional Office of Education
McHenry, Illinois
64
Akshay Manikandan
age 14 | grade 8
Grundy/Kendall County Regional Office of Education
Morris, Illinois
65
Alex Ottens
age 14 | grade 8
Regional Office of Education #47
Sterling, Illinois
66
Daphne Gil
age 14 | grade 8
Lake County Regional Office of Education
Vernon Hills, Illinois
67
Reid Shaw
age 12 | grade 6
Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana
68
Achyut Ethiraj
age 13 | grade 7
SNSB Indiana Regional Bee
Fort Wayne, Indiana
69
Gavin Sigua
age 12 | grade 7
IU School of Education at IUPUI
Indianapolis, Indiana
70
Sharanya Kar
age 10 | grade 5
Lafayette Adult Resource Academy
Lafayette, Indiana
71
Craig Ulrey
age 13 | grade 7
Ball State University - WIPB-TV
Muncie, Indiana
72
Wes Cooper
age 11 | grade 5
Kankakee Valley REMC
Wanatah, Indiana
77
Isabella Carver
age 11 | grade 5
Visit Hopkinsville
Hopkinsville, Kentucky
78
Ian Gibson
age 13 | grade 7
Visit Hopkinsville
Hopkinsville, Kentucky
79
Rishaan Reddy
age 10 | grade 5
University Laboratory School
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
80
Aiden Pham
age 13 | grade 7
Kiwanis Club of Lafayette
Lafayette, Louisiana
81
Kai Richardson
age 13 | grade 8
SagamoreHill Broadcasting LLC
Lake Charles, Louisiana
82
Nayara de Silva-Ahmed
age 13 | grade 7
New Orleans Chapter of The Links
New Orleans, Louisiana
83
Sahil Thorat
age 13 | grade 8
Louisiana State University Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
84
Evan Trieu
age 12 | grade 7
Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram
Portland, Maine
89
Cheyenne Hensley
age 13 | grade 7
Frederick County Public Libraries
Frederick, Maryland
90
Alec Gallahan
age 14 | grade 8
Charles County Public Schools
La Plata, Maryland
91
Evangelene Hill
age 14 | grade 8
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Princess Anne, Maryland
92
Tanoshi Inomata
age 10 | grade 4
Boston Centers for Youth & Families
Boston, Massachusetts
93
Adarsh Venkannagari
age 9 | grade 4
The Daily Item
Lynn, Massachusetts
94
Emily Demlow
age 14 | grade 8
SNSB Michigan and Ohio Regional Bee
Battle Creek, Michigan
95
Joscelyn Ryan
age 14 | grade 8
Macomb Intermediate School District
Clinton Township, Michigan
96
Anwesha Ahmed
age 13 | grade 8
WXYZ Channel 7
Detroit, Michigan
101
Sidhanth Vetrivel
age 11 | grade 5
The Herald Palladium
St. Joseph, Michigan
102
Hazel Danziger
age 14 | grade 8
Traverse City Record-Eagle
Traverse City, Michigan
103
Aryan Khedkar
age 12 | grade 7
Oakland Schools Education Foundation
Waterford, Michigan
104
Vihaan Kapil
age 9 | grade 3
Success Beyond the Classroom
Arden Hills, Minnesota
105
Maximus Katsoulis
age 14 | grade 8
Lakes Country Service Cooperative
Fergus Falls, Minnesota
106
Elijah Elledge
age 11 | grade 5
South Central Service Cooperative
North Mankato, Minnesota
107
Roberto Villasboas
age 12 | grade 6
Southeast Service Cooperative
Rochester, Minnesota
108
Will Rausch
age 12 | grade 7
Sourcewell
Staples, Minnesota
109
Vihaan Mahajan
age 13 | grade 8
The Commercial Dispatch
Columbus, Mississippi
110
Baruni Jakkula
age 13 | grade 8
The Commercial Dispatch
Columbus, Mississippi
111
Aanya Shetty
age 12 | grade 7
Columbia Missourian
Columbia, Missouri
112
Garrett Fry
age 12 | grade 7
Mid-Continent Public Library
Independence, Missouri
113
Mariah Coffey
age 12 | grade 6
Raymore-Peculiar School District
Peculiar, Missouri
114
Colby Armes
age 12 | grade 6
Three Rivers College
Poplar Bluff, Missouri
115
Tyler Tang
age 10 | grade 5
A.C.E.S.
Rolla, Missouri
116
Julianna Mullins
age 14 | grade 8
Mosaic Life Care Foundation
St. Joseph, Missouri
117
Sonia Kulkarni
age 12 | grade 7
Saint Louis University
St. Louis, Missouri
118
Natalie Russ
age 14 | grade 8
Montana Television Network
Bozeman, Montana
119
Sarah Fernandes
age 11 | grade 5
Omaha Sports Commission
Omaha, Nebraska
120
Arren Feliciano
age 13 | grade 7
The Public Education Foundation
Las Vegas, Nevada
121
Sarina Ali
age 12 | grade 7
The Public Education Foundation
Las Vegas, Nevada
122
Iris LaMoreaux
age 14 | grade 8
New Hampshire Union Leader
Manchester, New Hampshire
123
Atharv Narvekar
age 14 | grade 8
Somerset County Library System
Bridgewater, New Jersey
124
Lucas Ke
age 14 | grade 8
Bergen County Division of Cultural & Historic Affairs
Hackensack, New Jersey
125
Kavya Jakasania
age 13 | grade 7
Hudson County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs
Jersey City, New Jersey
126
Aria Khambhati
age 9 | grade 4
Sidelines and Stages
Maplewood, New Jersey
127
Mariam Belkouchi
age 13 | grade 7
Sidelines and Stages
Maplewood, New Jersey
128
Laura Joseph
age 14 | grade 8
Press Communications
Neptune, New Jersey
129
Keith Lee
age 11 | grade 6
The Albuquerque Journal
Albuquerque, New Mexico
130
Saheb Sarkar
age 12 | grade 6
Corning Rotary Club
Corning, New York
131
Markus Ferrara
age 13 | grade 8
Orange-Ulster BOCES
Goshen, New York
132
Noah Kaplan
age 11 | grade 6
SNSB New York State Regional Bee
Hopewell Junction, New York
133
Brian Liu
age 11 | grade 6
ScholarSkills for STARS
New Windsor, New York
134
Lora Wu
age 12 | grade 7
ScholarSkills for STARS
New York, New York
135
Vale Esposito
age 13 | grade 8
ScholarSkills for STARS
New York, New York
136
Stephen Chehata
age 14 | grade 8
Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES
Newark, New York
137
Richard Tang
age 13 | grade 8
The Daily Star
Oneonta, New York
138
Simran Sanders
age 12 | grade 6
The Post-Standard
Syracuse, New York
139
Micah Sterling
age 10 | grade 5
Watertown Daily Times
Watertown, New York
140
Ananya Rao Prassanna
age 12 | grade 6
Carolina Panthers
Charlotte, North Carolina
141
Peyton Goldenstein
age 14 | grade 8
Carolina Panthers
Charlotte, North Carolina
142
Rex Dover
age 14 | grade 8
Carolina Panthers
Charlotte, North Carolina
143
Reyansh Joshi
age 11 | grade 5
Carolina Panthers
Charlotte, North Carolina
144
Rishi Jayakumar
age 14 | grade 8
Carolina Panthers
Charlotte, North Carolina
145
Logan Edwards
age 12 | grade 7
Carolina Panthers
Charlotte, North Carolina
146
Isaiah Henry
age 11 | grade 5
Duke University Office of Durham and Community Affairs
Durham, North Carolina
147
Angelo Aldoph
age 13 | grade 7
Cumberland County Schools
Fayetteville, North Carolina
148
Lila Rechel
age 13 | grade 7
Harnett County Schools
Lillington, North Carolina
149
Olivia Tolentino
age 14 | grade 8
Johnston County Public Schools
Smithfield, North Carolina
150
Luna Gasevic
age 13 | grade 7
ND Association of County Superintendents
Bismarck, North Dakota
151
Emma Liu
age 13 | grade 7
Akron Beacon Journal
Akron, Ohio
152
Tia Geisler
age 10 | grade 4
ESC of the Western Reserve
Concord Township , Ohio
157
Advait Nishit
age 13 | grade 7
ESC of Northeast Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
158
Bridget Smith
age 13 | grade 7
Educational Service Center of Lorain County
Elyria, Ohio
159
Ope Balogun
age 12 | grade 7
The Lima News
Lima, Ohio
160
Shaylynn Dennis
age 14 | grade 8
Salem News, East Liverpool Review and The Morning Journal
Lisbon, Ohio
169
Christian Miller
age 13 | grade 8
Chester County Intermediate Unit
Downingtown, Pennsylvania
170
Kenzo Veron
age 14 | grade 8
WITF: Public Media for Central Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
171
Priana Khant
age 14 | grade 8
Pennsylvania State Education Association and Council for the Advancement of Public Schools
Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania
172
Pranav Anandh
age 14 | grade 8
Delaware County Intermediate Unit
Morton, Pennsylvania
177
Raana Parchuri
age 13 | grade 7
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
178
Tyler Kulikosky
age 14 | grade 8
The Republican Herald
Pottsville, Pennsylvania
179
Aaditya Aiyer
age 13 | grade 7
Diamond City Sports
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
180
Orlando Fernández Valera
age 14 | grade 8
Eureka Enrichment & Learning Center, Inc.
San Juan, Puerto Rico
181
Penelope Sargeant
age 14 | grade 8
The Valley Breeze
Lincoln, Rhode Island
182
Siqi Fang
age 14 | grade 8
The Post and Courier
Charleston, South Carolina
183
Luc Calagsing
age 12 | grade 7
Pee Dee Education Center
Florence, South Carolina
184
Aiza Soherwardy
age 14 | grade 8
USC Upstate
Spartanburg, South Carolina
185
Charli Fickbohm
age 14 | grade 8
University of South Dakota
Vermillion, South Dakota
186
Audrey Dougherty
age 13 | grade 7
Tennessee Titans
Knoxville, Tennessee
187
Rainaa Bhupesh
age 14 | grade 8
University of Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
188
Armaan Singhvi
age 12 | grade 6
Tennessee Titans
Nashville, Tennessee
197
Brihasa Veduru
age 10 | grade 5
Texas Christian University
Fort Worth, Texas
198
Luke Nguyen
age 12 | grade 6
Houston Community College
Houston, Texas
199
Ishika Varipilli
age 12 | grade 7
Houston Community College
Houston, Texas
200
Kirsten Tiffany Santos
age 12 | grade 7
Houston Community College
Houston, Texas
201
Nathaniel Rimocal
age 14 | grade 8
Laredo Morning Times
Laredo, Texas
202
Ava Flores
age 11 | grade 5
Ramar Communications
Lubbock, Texas
203
Robbie Ortiz
age 13 | grade 8
Rio Grande Valley AIM Media Texas
McAllen, Texas
204
Shwetha Jayakumar
age 13 | grade 8
Midland Reporter-Telegram
Midland, Texas
205
Siyona Kandala
age 11 | grade 5
The Brauntex Performing Arts Theatre Association
New Braunfels, Texas
206
Ajay Gundlapalli
age 13 | grade 7
Ector County Independent School District
Odessa, Texas
207
Akash Vukoti
age 13 | grade 8
San Angelo Association of REALTORS
San Angelo, Texas
208
Lucas Lee
age 12 | grade 7
Victoria Advocate
Victoria, Texas
209
Gabriella Chiang
age 14 | grade 8
Rapoport Holdings, LLC
Waco, Texas
210
Wes Underwood
age 13 | grade 8
The Ministry of Education
Nassau, The Bahamas
211
Abdel-Malik Bazzar
age 10 | grade 5
The Virgin Islands Daily News
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
212
Luke Jeppesen
age 14 | grade 8
Southeast Education Service Center
Price, Utah
213
Surya Kapu
age 14 | grade 8
The City Journals
Salt Lake City, Utah
214
Elise Cournoyer
age 14 | grade 8
VTDigger
Rutland, Vermont
215
Ruby Kadera
age 13 | grade 8
SNSB Region Two Bee
Arlington, Virginia
216
Nathaniel Hersey
age 13 | grade 8
The Daily Progress and News Virginian
Charlottesville, Virginia
217
Kamsi Ezugwu
age 11 | grade 6
Big Brothers and Big Sisters
Danville, Virginia
218
Luke DiMaso
age 14 | grade 8
Central Rappahannock Regional Library
Fredericksburg, Virginia
219
Bryan Milstead
age 13 | grade 8
Rockingham District Ruritans
Harrisonburg, Virginia
220
Oviya Amalraj
age 12 | grade 6
Loudoun County Public Schools
Leesburg, Virginia
221
Graham Woodruff
age 14 | grade 8
The News & Advance
Lynchburg, Virginia
222
Siya Sampath
age 9 | grade 4
InsideNoVa/Prince William
Manassas, Virginia
223
Charlotte Walsh
age 14 | grade 8
Fairfax County Council PTA
Merrifield, Virginia
224
Rohith Konduri
age 13 | grade 7
WHRO Public Media
Norfolk, Virginia
225
Joy-Den Wilson
age 12 | grade 7
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Richmond, Virginia
226
Eli Simundza
age 13 | grade 8
The Roanoke Times
Roanoke, Virginia
227
Sanchali Bohacek
age 14 | grade 8
Town Hall Seattle
Seattle, Washington
228
Madeline Feinstein
age 13 | grade 8
Charleston Gazette-Mail
Charleston, West Virginia
about the bee
Since 1925, children across America have participated in classroom, school and regional spelling bees with the hope of making it to the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
get ready for
bee week!
Bee Week 2023 will take place at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. On May 28, 231 spellers from across the country and around the world will arrive in the Washington, D.C., area. For these spellers, Bee Week will include much more than three days of nationally-televised competition.