Student From Issaquah In Scripps National Spelling Bee

ISSAQUAH, WA — The 92nd annual Scripps National Spelling Bee is nearly here and nine students from Washington plan to compete this year. More than 560 children from all 50 states will vie for a shot at becoming the nation’s preeminent speller.

Preliminary multiple-choice tests will be held Monday, May 27. Onstage spelling competitions will be held all day the following Tuesday and Wednesday, with finalists competing Thursday, May 30. No more than 50 spellers will advance to the finals Thursday.

Interested viewers can watch every word Wednesday on the Watch ESPN app. On Thursday, finalists will begin spelling on stage at 10 a.m. Eastern Time and this part of the competition will air live on ESPN 2. After the field is narrowed down to roughly a dozen finalists, ESPN will air the spelling bee finals live Thursday night.

The event will be held at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. The champion will receive a $50,000 prize.

Here are the contestants from around Puget Sound (two more students from Tumwater and Chelan are also competing):

Nidhi Achanta, 13
Maywood Middle School, Newcastle.
Achanta competed in 2018, coming in No. 323 nationally.

Deetya Vuppala, 10
Spiritridge Elementary, Bellevue

Helen Murphy, 14
St. Luke School, Shoreline

Anushka Noori, 11
Hill Creek Christian, Issaquah

Sirjana Kaur, 11
Redmond Elementary School

Saharsh Vuppala, 10
Wilburton Elementary, Bellevue

Ananth Nithin, 10
Bear Creek Elementary, Woodinville

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.