Charlotte-area teenager is headed to Scripps National Spelling Bee finals in Florida
Believe in the power of the hoodie.
Sreethan Gajula of Waxhaw, wearing his lucky black zip-up sweatshirt, correctly spelled two words and knew the meaning of a third during the semifinals of the 93rd Scripps National Spelling Bee to reach the July 8 finals.
The 14-year-old from Marvin Ridge Middle School in Union County will be joined by 10 other spellers at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, Florida.
The last Charlotte-area student to reach the national spelling bee finals was Akshra Paimagam of Randolph Middle School in 2017. She finished 23rd overall. North Carolina has had two national spelling bee champions, both from Winston-Salem. The last one was Libby Childress in 1970.
Sunday night’s semifinals, like the preliminaries and quarterfinals, were held virtually. The finals will be in person — and in Florida. That’s a change from previous years, when the finals were held in the Washington, D.C., area.
Sreethan spelled “cavatappi” in the seventh round of the bee, then selected the correct meaning of “xylotomous,” an adjective that means something “is able to bore through wood.”
In the ninth round, Sreethan secured his spot in the finals by correctly spelling “sloe.”
The lucky hoodie
His lucky hoodie is an oversized Microsoft sweatshirt his mother, Smitha Vangamudi, was given at a work conference. Sreethan, who is backed by the Carolina Panthers, has worn it since winning the school spelling bee in December.
He told the Observer last week he had read the dictionary page-by-page and studied word stems and language rules during the quarantine and remote learning. A rising ninth-grader, Sreethan said he knew that this would be his final chance to compete in the national bee, and he wants to win it — badly.
His secret to being a great speller? Writing out each competition word on his palm with his finger, which he and many of the 30 semifinalists did Sunday night. This helps him visualize each word and account for any lurking double consonants.
Outside of preparing for the spelling bee, Sreethan likes to play tennis and video games, read and create meaningful projects with his friends. He and a classmate are working on a research project to analyze plastic decomposition. Sreethan, who considers himself an environmentalist, hopes to find a way to make plastic decompose faster.
The pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 competition. In 2019, an unprecedented eight spellers were crowned champions.
Watch the Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals
What: 11 spellers compete in-person. The competition will keep a “word meaning” round.
Where: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, Orlando, Florida.
When: 8 p.m., Thursday, July 8
TV: ESPN2
This story was originally published June 27, 2021 at 10:09 PM.