Tri-Valley youth make top 100 in national spelling bee

Three Tri-Valley students were in Washington DC this week to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, marking the first time on the national stage for two and a return for one.

Aren Lee, Aiden Meng, and Rithi Balajee were sponsored by the San Ramon Valley Rotary Club in the national spelling bee, marking the only Tri-Valley contestants out of the 243 young spellers coming from far and wide this week to the biggest event in competitive spelling.

The three contestants all made it to the top 100, but did not advance to the final rounds that marked the culmination of the event Thursday.

While all three contestants breezed through the initial rounds of the competition earlier in the week, Balajee was the first of the three local contestants out, making it to the fourth round before being stumped by the word “gibbon.” Meng persevered until round 6 before being ousted for including an extra letter in the word “horopter,” with Lee proceeding to round 8 – a vocabulary round – before giving an incorrect definition for the word “lacuna.” 

Although each contestant in the competitive spelling world is eager for the national title, this year’s placement meant that the three local contestants were able to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show during the final rounds of the competition Thursday evening. 

This year’s placements are also a victory for all three contestants, with this being the first time Meng and Balajee have participated in the national competition – beating out other contestants at the local level for the opportunity – and the second time for Lee, who was among the 53 returning contestants this year, with his top 40 placement marking a significant step up from last year, in which he tied for 60th place.

With the competition being open to students up through eighth grade – Lee’s current grade level – this year likely marks the final one in which he will be able to compete. Meng and Balajee – in sixth and seventh grades respectively – could have an opportunity to return next year.

While making it to the national competition in any given year is a young, competitive speller’s dream come true, this year marks the centennial anniversary of the Scripps Spelling Bee, which was launched in 1925 with just nine contestants.

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