Top qualifiers to compete in Arizona State Spelling Bee for chance to make national finals

PHOENIX — A chance at academic glory will be on the line later this month as Arizona’s top qualifiers compete in the state spelling bee.

Twenty-seven students, ranging from third grade to eighth grade, will go head-to-head on March 18 at the Madison Center for the Arts, located near 16th Street and Missouri Avenue.

The winner will move on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland, which will run from May 30 to June 1. The final day will be broadcast live.

The winner of the national bee gets a $50,000 grand prize.

Last year’s statewide winner was Aliyah Alpert, a sixth-grader who was homeschooled in Prescott.

Alpert made it to the finals of the national bee, where she finished in ninth place.

She misspelled the word “ajivika” in the opening round of the finals.

Alpert is not among the 27 competing students this year.

The group of top qualifiers was whittled down from an initial 485,000 competing Arizona students.

Classroom, grade level, schoolwide, district and county/regional bees were held ahead of the statewide bee.

About half of the spellers are from metro Phoenix. Here is the full list of spellers:

• Shahasrad Balaji, 4th Grade, Age 9, Basis Peoria Primary, Basis Charter Schools, Maricopa County Region 4
• Aanandi Dutta, 4th Grade, Age 9, Kyrene de los Cerritos, Kyrene School District, Maricopa County, Region 1
• Anthony Estrella, 7th Grade, Age 12, Legacy Traditional School, Legacy Traditional School, Maricopa County Region 5
• Annabelle Gamez, 8th Grade, Age 13, Safford Middle School, Safford Unified District, Graham County
• Catalina Garcia, 7th Grade, Age 12, Fairbanks Middle School, Morenci Unified School District, Greenlee County
• Isabell Gavin, 8th Grade, Age 13, Veritas Christian Community School, Independent Charter School, Cochise County
• Zane Gibbs, 8th Grade, Age 13, Blue Ridge Junior High School, Blue Ridge Unified School District, Navajo County
• Ethan Greenwood, 8th Grade, Age 13, Coyote Hills Elementary School, Peoria Unified School District, Maricopa County Region 4
• Calliope Hill, 6th Grade, Age 11, Montessori School of Flagstaff, American Montessori Society, Coconino County
• Kimora Holloway, 7th Grade, Age 13, Maricopa Virtual Academy, Maricopa Unified School District, Pinal County
• Alrick James, 4th Grade, Age 9, Estrella Foothills Global Academy, Laveen School District, Maricopa County Region 3
• Asiya Kabir, 6th Grade, Age 11, Arizona Cultural Academy, Independent Charter School, Maricopa County Region 1
• Ishana Karthik, 5th Grade, Age 10, Adam’s Traditional Academy, A Choice Academies School, Maricopa County Region 2
• Ethan Knudson, 7th Grade, Age 13, Masada Charter School, Independent Charter School, Mohave County
• Sai Manvik Malreddy, 8th Grade, Age 13, Explorer Middle School, Paradise Valley Unified School District, Maricopa County Region 2
• Nathan Merrill, 8th Grade, Age 13, Legacy Traditional School – Northwest Tucson, Legacy Traditional School District, Pima County
• Opal Mishra, 6th Grade, Age 12, Basha Accelerated Middle School, Chandler Unified School District, Maricopa County Region 6
• Marcelina Olivarez, 5th Grade, Age 10, Copper Rim Elementary, Globe Unified School, District, Gila County
• Karen Opoku-Appoh, 8th Grade, Age 13, Marana Middle School, Marana Unified School District, Pima County
• Regina Rascon, 7th Grade, Age 11, Bogle Junior High School, Chandler Unified School District, Maricopa County Region 6
• Daniel Renteria, 8th Grade, Age 14, Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic School, Diocese of Tuscon, Yuma County
• Jacob Schliekelman, 3rd Grade, Age 8, Ehrenberg Elementary, Quartzite Elementary School District, La Paz County
• Yug Sonawane, 8th Grade, Age 12, Phoenix Country Day School, Independent Charter School, Maricopa County Region 3
• Khalista Talingdan, 8th Grade, Age 13, Verrado Middle School, Litchfield Elementary School District, Maricopa County Region 5
• Alan Tryon, 8th Grade, Age 13, St. Johns Middle School, St. Johns Unified School District, Apache County
• Miguel Valenzuela, 7th Grade, Age 12, Wade Carpenter Middle School, Nogales Unified School District, Santa Cruz County
• Shaelyn Van Doren, 7th Grade, Age 11, Franklin Phonetic School, Independent Charter School, Yavapai County

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