4 Chicago students to compete in 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee
CINCINNATI - Four young students from Chicago will be among the 243 competitors in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Maryland this week.
It’s a landmark year for the spelling bee, which began in 1925 with just nine participants.
Illinois represented in spelling bee
What we know:
The four spellers listed from Chicago include:
Shruthi Ayyagari, age 13, is a seventh grader at Francis Granger Middle School.
Alanur Mescioglu, age 13, is a seventh grader at Ira Jones Middle School.
Katie Park, age 14, an eighth grader at Saint Andrews Lutheran School.
Beatriz Whitford-Rodriguez, age 14, an eighth grader at Skinner North Classical School.
(From left to right) Beatriz Whitford-Rodriguez, Shruthi Ayyagari, Katie Park, and Alanur Mescioglu. (Scripps National Spelling Bee)
The other competitors from Illinois include:
- Mason Coulthard, of Freeport
- Tyler Kochanski, of McHenry
- Kavin Kumar Suriya Prakash, of Edwards
- Julia Kurien, of Loves Park
- Yahya Mohammed, of Geneva
- Brighid Reid, of DeKalb
- Visharad Sathish, of Vernon Hills
- Arnav Sharma, of Morris
- Parker Zimmerly, of Sterling
This year, the spellers range in age from 8 to 14. The spellers represent all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Illinois has the fourth-most competitors this year. Texas leads with 22 competitors.
What's next:
The preliminary round of the spelling bee will take place on Tuesday starting at 8 a.m. eastern time.
The final will air on ION on Thursday from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., eastern time.
For more information on the Scripps National Spelling Bee and the competitors, visit SpellingBee.com.