Scripps Spelling Bee 2018: Meet The North Carolina Spellers

More than 500 spellers will take part in 2018’s Scripps National Spelling Bee, which officially kicked off Tuesday in Maryland. Of the 519 participants taking part in the annual competition, 20 are from North Carolina, including one from Mooresville.

The preliminary rounds take place Tuesday and Wednesday and the finals will be held on Thursday, May 31. On Tuesday and Wednesday, you can watch the Bee on ESPN 3. For the finals, tune into ESPN 2 from 10 a.m. - 2p.m. eastern for Part 1 and for Part 2, tune into ESPN at 8:30 p.m eastern.

The preliminaries consist of a multiple choice test and two rounds of spelling onstage, known as round 2 and round 3 respectively, Scripps explains. Spellers are eliminated for spelling incorrectly in either of the onstage rounds. After rounds 2 and 3, no more than 50 spellers head to the finals. (Read the full competition rules here.)

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Here are the North Carolina spellers taking part in the competition:

• Paarth Tara — #320, Mebane, NC
• Noah King — #328, Burner, NC
• Helena Thompson — #335, Sanford, NC
• Akshar Yeccherla — #340, Cary, NC
• Nathaniel Barnes — #345, Wilson, NC
• Prisha Patel — #347, Rocky Mount, NC
• Eva Vega — #350, Marvin, NC
• Obiora Ude — #352, Lillington, NC
• Anna Boone — #359, Sanford, NC
• Anushka Kulkarni — #360, Charlotte, NC
• Addison Champion — #362, Shelby, NC
• Rahul Sachdev — #363, Cary, NC
• Hanna Closs — #370, Durham, NC
• Reagan Edson — #373, Mocksville, NC
• Kendal Win — #376, Fayetteville, NC
• Sivasaipraneethreddy Devireddy — #383, Mooresville, NC
• Robert Gorlach — #387, Gastonia, NC
• Elizabeth Muller — #395, Frisco, NC
• Cameron Glogower — #406, Clayton, NC
• Beatrice Gale Sangangbayan — #410, Goldsboro, NC

Check back with Patch and we’ll keep you updated with how the North Carolina spellers perform.

And if you’re curious about whether you have what it takes to compete in the Bee, you can take the preliminaries test to find out.

Photo credit: NATIONAL HARBOR, MD - MAY 31: Lydia Pulsinelli of Knoxville, Tennessee, tries to spell her word during round two of 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center May 31, 2017 in National Harbor, Maryland. Close to 300 spellers are competing in the annual spelling contest for the top honor this year. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)