Scripps National Spelling Bee Welcomes 5 SoCal Students To The Quarterfinals

Five middle schoolers from across Southern California have advanced to the quarterfinals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The kid contestants include a sixth grader from Los Angeles, a 13-year-old from Orange County, a pair of San Bernardino County students, and an eighth grader who is representing Riverside County for the second year in a row.

The SoCal spellers will take on 143 other young hopefuls from across the country Wednesday morning for the quarterfinals in National Harbor, Maryland. A contestant from any of those counties has never won the bee.

You can tune in here starting at 5 a.m. PT to cheer them on.

Keep up with LAist.

If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.

Subscribe

Representing Los Angeles

Would you be able to spell “doxycycline” on a national stage? Well, Oliver Halkett did just that on Tuesday to secure his spot in the quarterfinals.

Halkett is in sixth grade at The Mirman School in Brentwood Heights.

The 12-year-old was named this year’s California State Elementary Spelling Bee champion, the first L.A. County student to ever take home the state’s top spelling prize, according to L.A. City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez.

Halkett loves to read The Economist weekly, play piano, and cook new recipes with his mom, according to his speller slide.

Meet Orange County’s contestant

Katelyn Nguyen, 13, successfully spelled the word “durbar” in the preliminaries to make it to the next round.

She is a seventh grader at Helen Stacey Middle School in Huntington Beach and considers the Scripps National Spelling Bee her proudest achievement yet, according to her speller slide.

Nguyen enjoys reading, playing Genshin Impact, and practicing martial arts — she is a blue belt in aikido, after all.

Representing Riverside, again

Avijeet “Avi” Randhawa is a 13-year-old representing Riverside County for the second consecutive year.

The eighth grader from Auburndale Intermediate School in Corona tied for 12th place in the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Randhawa and his older sisters have formed a spelling dynasty — the family has taken home the top prize in the Riverside County Spelling Bee for the past eight years.

He enjoys Minecraft, building large Lego structures and playing basketball, according to his speller slide.

Meet San Bernardino County’s contestants

Shrey Parikh, 12, and Srikanth Satheesh Kumar, 14, are both being sponsored by the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools.

Parikh is in sixth grade at Rancho Cucamonga’s Day Creek Intermediate School and tied for 89th place in the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee. He loves nature, playing the drums, going to school, and watching The Goonies, according to his speller slide.

Kumar is in eighth grade at the Heritage Intermediate School in Fontana. He’s played basketball for the past five years and enjoys collecting player cards. He’s also a “thrill-seeker” who loves going to Six Flags with his friends, according to his speller slide.