Five of New Jersey’s top young spellers are headed to Maryland later this month to compete in the 96th Scripps National Spelling Bee, contest officials announced Thursday.
The 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee — which will be held in National Harbor, Maryland, from May 28 to 30 — includes a field of 245 competitors, officials said. It is the largest bee since 2019.
The national qualifiers advanced through local and regional bees that took place in early April. New Jersey’s qualifiers are from Somerset, Bergen, Hudson, Essex and Monmouth counties.
They New Jersey participants are:
- Aditya Jagan Mohan, 12, a sixth grader at Franklin Middle School in Somerset
- Oliva Rhee, 14, an eighth grader at Lewis F. Cole Middle School in Fort Lee
- Kavya Jakasania, 14, an eighth grader at Frank R. Conwell, Middle School #4 in Jersey City
- Mariam Belkouchi, 14, an eighth grader at Maarif School in Bloomfield
- Harini Murali, 12, a seventh grader at Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Neptune City
Kavya, the student from Jersey City, is among those returning to the national spelling bee for a second time. The 14-year-old previously represented Hudson County in the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Kavya made to the semifinals last year, making it to the final 22 out of 230 contestants.
The winner of the spelling bee will receive $50,000 in cash, a commemorative medal and the Scripps Cup, the official championship trophy, along with prizes from other organizations, including Merriam-Webster, the publishing company.
Six former finalists and three participants who have been in the national bee four times are included in this year’s contest. But, 180 spellers — more than 73% of the participants — are competing in their first Scripps National Spelling Bee, officials said.
“Each year, I’m moved by the stories I read about our spellers in the leadup to the national rounds of the competition,” said Corrie Loeffler, the bee’s executive director. “They are athletes and artists, engineers and entrepreneurs, philanthropists and authors — they are multi-faceted young people.”
“The thing they have in common is a shared love of language and the empowerment that comes from having the words to make connections and express their ideas,” she said.
The competitors, ranging in ages from eight to 15, are sponsored by local groups.
The New Jersey participants are sponsored by: the Somerset County Library System of New Jersey in Bridgewater; the Bergen County Division of Cultural & Historic Affairs in Hackensack; the Hudson County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs in Jersey City; Sidelines and Stages in Maplewood; and Press Communications in Neptune City.
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Brianna Kudisch may be reached at bkudisch@njadvancemedia.com.
