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McLean Eighth-Grader Advances to National Spelling Bee
Maitri Kovuru, an eighth-grader at Fort Worth ISD’s McLean Middle School, is advancing to the Scripps National Spelling Bee this May near Washington, D.C. after surviving a marathon regional bee Thursday, March 7.
Maitri held out 63 rounds to be crowned the 2019 Scripps Regional Spelling Bee at Texas Christian University. She is the first FWISD student in recent history to advance to the national bee.
The eighth-grader went head to head with a seventh-grader from Bethesda Christian School that included over 30 rounds and a written test to determine a winner.
“It’s a record,” said Norma Burks, lead regional bee judge. “[We’ve] never had a bee go 63 rounds.
“It was very exciting and surprising that these girls were so well versed. Words I’ve never seen. They were very talented.”
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is slated for May 27-30 in National Harbor, Maryland, just south of Washington, D.C.
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