Valley 7th grader finishes in 7th-place tie at Scripps National Spelling Bee

PHOENIX – A Valley seventh grader proved herself as one of the country’s sharpest students this week at the 100th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Esha Marupudi, a 13-year-old who attends at Basis Chandler, was one of nine finalists at the annual competition, which started Tuesday in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

Unfortunately, Marupudi’s championship dreams ended when she misspelled aromorphosis in Thursday’s televised final round, leaving her tied for seventh.

She earned a commemorative medal as a finalist. Semifinalists earn a medal and $500 gift card, and quarterfinalists take home a commemorative pin and $100 gift card.

How did other Arizona students do at the national competition?

This year’s contest started with 243 spellers, including four from Arizona.

Sumukh Tirumalasetty, a 10-year-old fourth grader at New Vistas Center For Education in Chandler, kept up with Marupudi until bowing out in the semifinals.

The other two Arizonans went out in the preliminary round: Salman Rashid, an 11-year-old sixth-grader at Harmon Elementary School in San Tan Valley, and Christopher Werito, a 13-year-old eighth grader at Tsaile Elementary School on the Navajo Nation.

Who won the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee?

Faizan Zaki, a 13-year-old from Allen, Texas, won the 2025 competition after finishing second a year ago. As champion, he takes home a $50,000 cash prize, a commemorative medal and the Scripps Cup trophy.

The first Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in 1925, when the Louisville Courier-Journal invited other newspapers to host spelling bees and send their champions to Washington. The bee is now held just outside the nation’s capital, at a convention center on the banks of the Potomac River.

Including Zaki, whose parents emigrated from southern India, 30 of the past 36 champions have been Indian American.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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