Boston can be well-represented within the Scripps Nationwide Spelling Bee in Might by Roxbury’s Sapna Malhotra, who received town bee Saturday by appropriately spelling “Senecio,” a sort of plant within the daisy household.
“Congratulations to all of our students who worked hard and made Boston proud at this year’s Bee,” Mayor Michelle Wu stated. “The City of Boston is honored to celebrate you. Congratulations to Sapna for this accomplishment and all of Boston will cheer you on as you represent our city in the national spelling bee in Washington D.C.”
Malhotra bested 23 others on the bee held at Rabb Corridor on the Boston Public Library’s Copley Department on Saturday. All 24 of them in flip have been really exceptional spellers who stood out of the three,000 sturdy contingent of rivals throughout the Boston Facilities for Youth & Households’ Citywide Bee.
Along with the possibility of being the second Bostonian to win the Scripps Bee — the final and just one was in 1939 — the John Eliot Ok-9 faculty eighth grader acquired the Samuel Louis Sugarman Award, a 2025 U.S. Mint Proof Set donated by Mr. Jay Sugarmann in honor of his father, a one-year subscription to Merriam-Webster Unabridged On-line, a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica On-line Premium, and a trophy.
The runners-up have been 13-year-old Ruslana Roshchin from Jamaica Plain, who took house second-place honors, and Haylee Chen, 11, of Brighton, who completed third. They every took house a $125 Amazon present card and a trophy.
“The dedication and skill displayed by our spellers today were truly inspiring, and we’re immensely proud of each participant,” stated Marta E. Rivera, Commissioner of BCYF. “We’re deeply grateful to the Boston Bruins Foundation for their ongoing partnership in bringing this enriching experience to our city’s youth. We extend our sincere thanks to Yusufi Vali, Sebastian Stockman, and Kate Hennigan for their invaluable time and support as judges. We’ll be enthusiastically cheering on Sapna as she represents Boston at the National Bee.”
Photograph by Paul Connors/Boston Herald
Mark Bryant, an eighth grader at Boston School Excessive College, reacts after misspelling a phrase throughout Saturday’s Boston spelling bee. (Photograph by Paul Connors/Boston Herald)

Photograph by Paul Connors/Boston Herald
Trinit Mayers, a sixth grader at East Brook Constitution faculty, ponders the spelling of a phrase Saturday on the Boston spelling bee. (Photograph by Paul Connors/Boston Herald)

Photograph by Paul Connors/Boston Herald
Jrex Apurado, a fifth grader at Edison Ok-9 faculty, ponders the spelling of a phrase Saturday on the Boston spelling bee. (Photograph by Paul Connors/Boston Herald)