Shrey Parikh wins the Scripps National Spelling Bee, beating Ishaan Gupta in lightning round

WASHINGTON (AP) — Shrey Parikh felt the pressure of arriving at the Scripps National Spelling Bee as a favorite, but his confidence showed every time he got a word he knew. And when it all came down to a lightning-round tiebreaker against Ishaan Gupta, Shrey left no doubt.

Shrey turned a tense, high-quality final into a blowout Thursday night, racing through the 90-second “spell-off” and getting 32 words right to be crowned the best young speller in the English language. Ishaan spelled 25 words correctly in the tiebreaker.

A 14-year-old from Rancho Cucamonga, California, Shrey finished third in 2024 but lost his school bee last year when he was battling a fever. He has dominated the bee circuit since, winning several online competitions against many of the same kids he outlasted this week in the nation’s capital. His winning haul includes a custom trophy and $52,500 in cash.

“Right now I’m probably the happiest I’ve ever been. I’m just so happy and relieved, and just such a flood of emotions,” Shrey said. “At my school bee last year, I was really dejected and just very upset. It didn’t even sink in until the next day. I had a really tough time, but I’m glad I was able to bounce back.”

Ishaan, a 12-year-old seventh-grader from Jersey City, New Jersey, was a semifinalist last year, outperformed some veteran spellers in the finals and has another year of eligibility left.

Sarv Dharavane, a 12-year-old sixth-grader from Dunwoody, Georgia, finished third for the second consecutive year and has two more years to improve that placement.

For the first time in the bee’s history, second- and third-place finishers from the same year have gone on to win. Faizan Zaki won last year, and two years ago he was the runner-up, just ahead of Shrey, his close friend.

Sporting a business-casual look with a dark, long-sleeve collared shirt, khakis and sneakers, the lanky Shrey strode to the microphone with a dour, apprehensive expression that instantly vanished when he heard his word from pronouncer Jacques Bailly and nodded vigorously — his tell that, yes, he knew it.

Upon hearing the announcement confirming his victory in the spell-off, Shrey turned and shook his competitor’s hand.

He can credit his victory to intense preparation. Shrey had three coaches: Sam Evans, who has tutored each of the past three champions; Sohum Sukhatankar, a co-champion himself in 2019; and Vijaya Ganesh, a longtime coach and the mother of a former spellers. He competed nonstop against other top spellers, pored through advanced study guides and tried to eliminate the variables that had led to the few unexpected exits of his long spelling career.

“The school bee last year was a blessing in disguise,” said Shrey’s father, Gaurav Parikh. “That’s very important in life to experience, you know, ups and downs. You’re not going to win everything. You’re going to learn how to deal with setbacks.”

Former spellers, coaches and other observers described this group of finalists as unusually strong, and they showed off their skills early by going 18 for 18 at the start, breezing through the first spelling and vocabulary rounds. Aiden Meng of Orinda, California, ended that streak when he was tripped up by “catometope” to start the second spelling round.

Then the crowd gasped when the bell rung on two thought to be capable of winning it all: Oliver Halkett for “Faesulae” and Zwe Spacetime for “vaesite,” words with tricky combinations of origins and vowel sounds.

The bee’s move to Constitution Hall, a point of contention for spellers and their families because of inconveniences it caused, helped imbue the event with a lively atmosphere, with more intimate seating and better sight lines bringing the crowd closer to the action.

New television host Mina Kimes of ESPN narrated the action smoothly alongside longtime bee analyst Paul Loeffler.

One thing that was missing with the new venue: A shower of confetti when the champion was announced. Shrey’s celebration was muted, respectful. But there was no doubt that he was a deserving winner.

“Shrey’s relentless,” Evans said. “I’ve really never seen someone put this much effort into spelling bees and learning everything that he possibly can.”

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Ben Nuckols has covered the Scripps National Spelling Bee since 2012. Follow his work here.

Ben Nuckols, The Associated Press