Meet the National Spelling Bee Finalists

U.S.|Meet this year’s finalists.

More than half have experience on the national stage. One eighth grader is a seasoned veteran of the most competitive circuit. A third call Texas home.

These are the students who reached the finals of this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee. They hail from seven states and the Bahamas, and have just finished fifth through eighth grade. Four are from Texas, including two from the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The youngest, Vivinsha Veduru, is 11. Several spellers competed in the grueling 2019 tournament, which produced eight co-champions after hours of quizzing. And among the 14-year-olds is a student making her fourth attempt at the spelling crown: Ashrita Gandhari, who competed in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

• Roy Seligman, 12, a seventh grader from Nassau, the Bahamas.

• Bhavana Madini, 13, a seventh grader from New York City.

• Sreethan Gajula , 14, an eighth grader from the Charlotte area in North Carolina.

• Ashrita Gandhari, 14, an eighth grader from Leesburg, Va.

• Avani Joshi, 13, an eighth grader from Loves Park, Ill.

• Zaila Avant-garde, 14, an eighth grader from New Orleans.

• Vivinsha Veduru, 11, a fifth grader from Fort Worth.

• Dhroov Bharatia, 12, a seventh grader from the Dallas area.

• Vihaan Sibal, 12, a sixth grader from Waco, Texas.

• Akshainie Kamma, 13, a seventh grader from Austin, Texas.

• Chaitra Thummala, 12, a sixth grader from San Francisco.