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The more than 200 talented young spellers from across the country who gathered for the Scripps National Spelling Bee in greater Washington, D.C. are back home following the competition at the end of May, including three from the San Ramon Valley.
Danville residents Shradha Rachamreddy, 14, Aren Lee, 12, and Amaani Charan, 14, all made it to the semifinals of the annual event, making them among the top 60 spellers in the nation, according to the results of the competition held May 28-30.
Bee Week is the pinnacle of competitive spelling for young students in the Scripps bee, held annually and open to students in eighth grade or below in the nation’s capital. In addition to the main event — the national spelling bee — the experience gives students with what might be considered a niche interest time to mingle with their counterparts from around the country.
There were 245 contestants in total at the start of this year’s event, 54 of whom were eliminated in the first round. All three San Ramon Valley students held on strong until round four — at which point both Lee and Charan were eliminated, tying with the other 87 spellers eliminated that round for 60th place in the overall competition.
Lee was ultimately stumped on the word “keratophyre” and Charan fell prey to the word “reflet.”
Rachamreddy, a longtime spelling bee competitor who earned third place in last year’s national event, was the one San Ramon Valley student to prevail through the fourth round, proceeding up to round eight when she was faced with the word “varran” and stumbled, putting her in ninth place along with the other eight spellers eliminated that round.
While the national event was recent, the road to Bee Week for the three San Ramon Valley spellers started with a local competition sponsored by the San Ramon Valley Rotary Club and the Contra Costa County Office of Education, the former of which served as their sponsor for the national competition.
The conclusion of Bee Week and the announcement of this year’s winners marks the conclusion of spelling bee season for competitors with their eyes on the national stage. However, the beginning of the next season is just a few months away, kicking off with the local competition hosted by the Rotary club, which traditionally takes place in August.
