Algonquin Speller Competes In National Bee This Week

Pranav Kollu of Algonquin, a fifth grader at Cambridge Lakes Charter School in Pingree Grove, will compete in this year's National Bee, which gets underway Tuesday. Pranav, 11, made it successfully through 62 rounds at the Kane County bee to earn his trip to Washington D.C. to compete in the prestigious spelling competition, the Daily Herald reports.

Meanwhile, local resident Brooke Danz, 11, of McHenry will be representing McHenry County at this year's Scripps bee. The 5th grader at Riverwood Elementary School in McHenry made it through 31 rounds to win McHenry County's bee, according to a news release from McHenry District 15. She spelled topeng correctly to take the top prize locally.

Other Chicago area spellers who will be competing in this year's Scripps National Bee include:

• Jaden Fellows, 12, of Chicago is a 6th grader at The Latin School of Chicago
• Riya Joshi, 13, of Chiacgo is a 7th grader at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School
• Gabriel Ennin, 14, of Plainfield is an 8th grader at Heritage Grove Middle School
• Ethan Ayersman, 14, of Chicago is an 8th grader at St. John of the Cross Parish School
• Tejas Shyamsundar, 14, of Vernon Hills is an 8th grader at Daniel Wright Junior High School
• Sharanya Pastapur, 14, of Lake Zurich is an 8th grader at Lake Zurich Middle School North
• Olivia Schwab, 12, of Plainfield, is a 6th grader at Murphy Junior High School
• Anmol Dash, 13, of Buffalo Grove, is an 8th grader at Daniel Wright Junior High School
• Atman Balakrishnan, 12, of Hinsdale, is a 6th grader at Hinsdale Middle School
• Shria Halkoda, 11, of Wadsworth is a 7th grader at River Trail School in Gurnee
• Calvin Franke, 13, of Palatine is a 7th grader at Plum Grove Junior High School
• William Farrell III, 13, of Chicago is a 7th grader at Immaculate Conception - St. Joseph School
• John Nelson, 12, of Western Springs is 6th grader at St. John of the Cross Parish School

The Scripps National Spelling Bee will air live starting on Tuesday morning on ESPN. The finals will be held on Thursday evening.

Photo credit: The Kane County ROE Facebook page