Merced’s Rishabh Saha ties for seventh at 96th Scripps National Spelling Bee
Cruickshank Middle School student Rishabh Saha tied for seventh in the nation at the 96th Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Saha was the first speller to start the finals on Thursday. His word was “desmotrope” and Saha was off by one letter spelling it as “desmatrope”.
On Wednesday, Saha secured his spot in the finals after correctly spelling the word “daler.” He was one of eight finalists to advance.
Those watching the livestream saw Saha’s and other contestants’ sportsmanship as they gave high fives to each other after each round.
This year’s competition ended with its second-ever “Scripps National Spelling Bee Spell-off.” Bruhat Soma and Faizan Zaki were given 90-seconds each to spell as many words as possible.
Zaki spelled 20 words correctly and Soma spelled 29 words correctly, making Bruhat Soma the 96th Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion. Soma is a 7th grader from St. Petersburg, Florida.
National finalists earn a number of awards and prizes from the Spelling Bee, as well as a commemorative medal and a cash prize between $2,000 to $25,000 (exact amount is based on final rankings).
The Spelling Bee champion earns a $50,000 cash prize, a commemorative medal, the official Scripps Cup championship trophy, a $2,500 cash prize and reference library from Merriam-Webster, and $400 of reference works (including a 1768 Encyclopædia Britannica © Replica Set) and a three-year membership to Britannica Online © Premium from Encyclopædia Britannica.
Scripps National Spelling Bee will also award the champion’s sponsor and school with engraved commemorative plaques.
This story was originally published May 31, 2024 at 10:03 AM.
CORRECTION: This version corrects an error in the story that incorrectly said a Merced County finalist in this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee was the first from the county to take part in the national competition.