WASHINGTON D.C. — Four students from Central Indiana are in Washington, D.C., representing their community on the national stage for the 100th anniversary of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The spellers include Leo Furlong representing Muncie, Owen Shirey representing Indianapolis, Sharanya Kar representing Lafayette and Raian Timur representing Greenwood.
"It's really exciting. I remember going there last year. It was such an amazing experience, and I'm excited to be able to do it again. The main thing I remember about it was like the anticipation, because it was a really big deal," Leo Furlong from Burris Laboratory School said.
"It just feels awesome. I just can't believe I made it this far. I'm just really nervous about going, but it'll also be a lot of fun having all the activities with the other spellers," Owen Shirey from Holy Spirit School said.
"It's been so many years, I've been working really hard towards it. I've given what four years now to it, so now to be able to go back and experience such a special Bee, that really is very sentimental to me," Sharanya Kar from West Lafayette Junior Senior High School said.
"It feels amazing and unreal. I'm super excited & also nervous," Raian Timur from Grassy Creek Elementary School said. "It feels good. I'm representing a lot of people."
All four spellers from Central Indiana are still in the competition so far after the first and second rounds.
Spellers are taking a written test Tuesday for round three, which includes spelling and vocabulary.
Parents will be emailed on Tuesday night if their speller moves on to the quarterfinal round.
You can watch the preliminaries and quarterfinals on Bounce XL Wednesday.
Then, the big two-night event will be the semifinals and finals on Wednesday and Thursday.
The competition starts at 8 p.m. both nights on ION.
