WITF Announces Spelling Bee Finalists Ahead of Grand Championship
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Christina Zeiders
WITF is proud to announce the 35 finalists advancing to the 2023 Central PA Spelling Bee Grand Championship on March 18 at the WITF Public Media Center. In January, these finalists earned the highest scores among 203 of their peers from 75 schools in a written spelling and vocabulary test.
The 35 top spellers will represent 29 schools from 11 counties in WITF’s coverage area:
- Nathan Anderson, Mechanicsburg Middle School, Mechanicsburg Area School District
- Alina Anjum, Eagle View Middle School, Cumberland Valley School District
- Joel Artman, Northern Middle School, Northern York County School District
- Connor Bailey, Yellow Breeches Middle School, South Middleton School District
- Aayush Behura, Hershey Elementary School, Derry Township School District
- Peyton Bergeron, Palmyra Area Middle School, Palmyra Area School District
- Olina Bunty, Centerville Elementary School, Hempfield School District
- Sophie Cunningham, Palmyra Area Middle School, Palmyra Area School District
- Aubrey Dillon, East Pennsboro Area Middle School, East Pennsboro Area School District
- Salaar Faiz, Manheim Township Middle School, Manheim Township School District
- Alivia Foltz, Tuscarora Junior High School, Juniata County School District
- Madison Gonzalez, Conestoga Valley Middle School, Conestoga Valley School District
- Eden Gracey, York Suburban Middle School, York Suburban School District
- Malachi Henson, Manheim Central Middle School, Manheim Central School District
- Ellee Hewick, South Eastern Intermediate School, South Eastern School District
- Elyse Hock, Northern Middle School, Northern York County School District
- CJ Jones, Mechanicsburg Middle School, Mechanicsburg Area School District
- Mackenzie Landis, Smith Middle School, Solanco School District
- Michelle Li, Infinity Charter School, Harrisburg
- Susie McCooey, Rohrerstown Elementary School, Hempfield School District
- Jaren McCurdy, Greencastle-Antrim Middle School, Greencastle-Antrim School District
- Haris Niazi, York Suburban Middle School, York Suburban School District
- Rachana R. Nou, Paxtonia Elementary School, Central Dauphin School District
- Van Reiner, Reynolds Middle School, School District of Lancaster
- David Rodriguez Schuetrumpf, Reynolds Middle School, School District of Lancaster
- Daniel Sandblade, Reynolds Middle School, School District of Lancaster
- Sibi Shanmugam, Eagle View Middle School, Cumberland Valley School District
- Harry Skiles, Martin Meylin Middle School, Lampeter-Strasburg School District
- Akshaj Somisetty, Mountain View Middle School, Cumberland Valley School District
- Jonathan Stermer, York Suburban Middle School, York Suburban School District
- David Street, Centerville Middle School, Hempfield School District
- Aisha Syed, Central Dauphin Middle School, Central Dauphin School District
- Stevenson Truong, Susquehanna Township Middle School, Susquehanna Township School District
- Tanush Vanamala, Mountain View Middle School, Cumberland Valley School District
- Kenzo Veron, Lamberton Middle School, Carlisle Area School District
The 2023 Central PA Spelling Bee Coordinator, Ruth Keim, knows how important the Spelling Bee is to the students who take part.
“I’ve grown to love the Bee,” said Keim. “It’s such a learning experience for the students, and because WITF produces video of the Grand Championship, we’re able to prepare the winner for their experience at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.”
The winner of the 2023 Central PA Spelling Bee Grand Championship earns an opportunity to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Md. May 30 – June 1.
See who wins by streaming the Grand Championship highlights at witf.org/bee, or on the WITF YouTube channel at youtube.com/@WITForg on April 1.
The Central PA Spelling Bee is sponsored by The Hershey Company, York College of Pennsylvania and The Donald B. and Dorothy L. Stabler Foundation.
