TAMPA, Fla. — It started with 11 million hopefuls, and now over 500 spellers are competing in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
There are seven local spellers who will be representing the Tampa Bay area in the competition.
This is who they are:
Anish Tejomurtula
Anish is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Dunedin Highland Middle School. He loves science and plays table tennis competitively. He previously competed in the bee in 2018 where he tied for 42nd place.
Maryclare Nestor
Maryclare is a 12-year-old sixth grader from Espiritu Santo Catholic School. She loved middle and long distance swimming and can't wait for her summer swim program to begin.
Dev Shah
Dev is a 10-year-old fourth grader from Ridgecrest Elementary School. He won the first United States Tennis Association Junior Tournament he participated in.
Arsh Shah
Arsh is a 13-year-old seventh grader from Dunedin Highland Middle School. He loves to cook and play basketball. He competed in the bee in 2017, where he tied for 41st place, and again 2018, where he tied for 42nd place.
Karina Montoya
Karina is a 14-year-old eighth grader from Odessa Christian School. She loves to play tennis and hopes to do it professionally when she's older. She previously competed in the bee in 2018, where she tied for 323rd place.
David De Coursy
David is a 13-year-old seventh grader from Berkeley Preparatory School. He speaks English, Spanish and Chinese. He previously competed in the bee in 2017, where he tied for 41st place, and again 2018, where he tied for 42nd place.
Neil Dave
Neil is a 13-year-old eighth grader from Lakeland Christian School. His favorite subject is math and he plays trombone for his school band. He previously competed in the bee in 2016, where he tied for 252nd place, and again in 2017 where he tied for 41st place.
The competition begins on May 27 with preliminaries and runs through May 30. For more information on the spelling bee click here.
