Two Mississippi middle schoolers will take a national stage this week in Maryland as they compete for the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
14-year-old Yuvakarthik Peddireddy, of Madison Middle School, and 13-year-old Sagan Karthikeyan, of Oxford Middle School, earned their trip to the 100th edition of the contest after placing first and second at the Mississippi Spelling Bee in March.
A clean spelling of the word “quadriga” earned Peddireddy the trophy at the statewide competition, while Karthikeyan nearly missed the top spot but also earned a ticket to the national competition via his runner-up finish.
The pair of spelling wizzes will compete in the preliminary round Tuesday against 241 other contestants, all of whom aim to remain standing come the final rounds on Thursday.
The Bee, held in National Harbor, Md., will celebrate the 100th edition of the storied competition and the millions of spellers that have participated in its ranks throughout the last century. Back in 1925, the inaugural contest featured just nine spellers and was won by Frank Neuhauser after correctly spelling the word “gladiolus.”
Watch the preliminary rounds via livestream here.
