Dev Shah has won the National Spelling Bee. His winning word was “psammophile,” a layup for a speller of his caliber.
OXON HILL, Md. - Soft-spoken but brimming with confidence, Dev Shah asked precise questions about obscure Greek roots, rushed through his second-to-last word and rolled to the Scripps National Spelling Bee title Thursday night.
Charlotte Walsh, a 14-year-old from Arlington, Virginia, was the runner-up, and she gave Dev a congratulatory hug. Dev, who previously appeared in the bee in 2019 and 2021, was close with many of his fellow finalists. “It took me I would say at least four months to get back on track,” he said. “I just didn't know if I wanted to keep continuing.”
“I practiced for the spell-off every day, I guess. I knew it might happen and I prepared for everything, so I kind of went into spell-off mode,” Dev said. “But I also was scared for the spell-off.” The bee began in 1925 and is open to students through the eighth grade. Spellers qualify by winning regional competitions around the country. There were 229 kids onstage at the beginning of this year's national bee - and each was a champion many times over, considering that 11 million participated at the school level.
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Scripps National Spelling Bee finalists flex their knowledge quietlyConfidence on the Scripps National Spelling Bee stage manifests itself in subtle ways, like spellers asking questions even though they know the answers.
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Scripps National Spelling Bee finalists flex their knowledge quietlyOXON HILL, Md. (AP) — Confidence on the Scripps National Spelling Bee stage manifests itself in subtle ways, like spellers asking questions even though they…
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