Two Seattle-area teens competing in the Scripps National Spelling Bee have made it to the semifinals.
Three local contestants competed in the quarterfinals Wednesday morning, 14-year-old Sirjana Kaur (No. 232), an eighth-grader at Redmond Middle School, and 13-year-old fraternal twins Saharsh Kesav Vuppala (No. 206) and Deetya Sai Vuppala (No. 221), eighth-graders who attend Annie Wright Middle School and Seabury Middle School, respectively, in Tacoma. The three are among the 234 spellers in National Harbor, Maryland, for the first fully in-person Bee since 2019.
Saharsh and Deetya started the day strong, advancing to the semifinals. Saharsh correctly spelled luteovirescent — greenish yellow. Deetya correctly spelled oculogyric — relating to or involving circular movements of the eyeballs.
Sirjana misspelled petronel — a portable firearm used in the 16th and 17th centuries. She spelled the word “P-E-T-R-O-N-E-L-L-E.” She finished in 49th place, tied with other spellers eliminated in the fourth round.
