Rochester Student Proves He’s One of the Smartest in the Nation

A Rochester, Minnesota student and four other fellow Minnesota students have proven that they're some of the smartest in the country. All five are competing in this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee!

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Scripps National Spelling Bee

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is coming up on its 100th anniversary. That's crazy! It first began in 1925 according to their website.

On their website, they write:

by inspiring the exploration of words, the Scripps National Spelling Bee illuminates pathways to lifelong curiosity, celebrates academic achievement and enriches communities.

Minnesota Students in Scripps National Spelling Bee

Five students from across Minnesota proved that they're good enough at spelling to compete in this national spelling bee.

It kicked off today, Wednesday, May 31st and it wraps up tomorrow night, Thursday, June 1st, with the finals. If you're interested, the semi-finals will be on TV tonight 7-9 PM and the finals will be on tomorrow night 7-9 PM.

Let's meet the five students!

Elijah Elledge

5th Grade - Age 11

North Mankato, MN

Maximus Katsoulis

8th Grade - Age 14

Fergus Falls, MN

Vihaan Kapil

3rd Grade - Age 9

Aden Hills, MN

Will Rausch

7th Grade - Age 13

Staples, MN

Roberto Villasboas

6th Grade - Age 12

Rochester, MN

How Are they Doing So Far?

This year's competition has already begun as of writing this, the quarterfinals have already taken place.

In round one, sadly, Elijah, Will, and Roberto were eliminated, but Vihaan and Maximus continued.

In round two, Vihaan was eliminated but Maximus continued on.

Maximus kept it going for round three and round four but then was unfortunately eliminated in round 5.

Great work to all five students, regardless! That's still insanely impressive to get to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in the first place. I don't even know what most of the words mean that they had to spell just in round one.