{"id":1234,"date":"2026-05-28T21:36:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T21:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1234"},"modified":"2026-05-28T21:36:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T21:36:35","slug":"meet-the-nc-student-who-will-compete-in-finals-of-scripps-national-spelling-bee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1234","title":{"rendered":"Meet the NC student who will compete in finals of Scripps National Spelling Bee"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

A Wake County student has earned a spot in Thursday\u2019s nationally televised finals of the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee.<\/p>\n

Read more Last call for extras to be in Amazon Prime movie filming in NC. Here\u2019s when (+ pay)<\/a><\/p>\n

Kushi Gottimukkala, 13, a seventh-grade student at Carnage Magnet Middle School in Raleigh, was among nine spellers who qualified for the finals after Wednesday\u2019s grueling quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. Three other North Carolinians also made it to the semifinals and tied for 10th place, narrowly missing a chance to be in Thursday night\u2019s prime-time finals.<\/p>\n

The finals will be televised live at 8 p.m. on Ion television and streamed online at spellingbee.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Gottimukkala could become the first speller from North Carolina to win the national title since 1970. In 2024, Ananya Rao Prassanna of Davis Drive Middle School in Cary finished in third place<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This year, 247 spellers from across the world, including eight from North Carolina<\/a>, qualified for the national competition.<\/p>\n

Read more Stanley Cup Final schedule announced for winner of Hurricanes-Canadiens series<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the second time Gottimukkala has made it to the nationals. Last year, she tied for 41st place.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Gottimukkala advanced by correctly spelling words such as \u201cdereism<\/a>\u201d and \u201cmizpah<\/a>\u201d and knowing that \u201chinterlands\u201d are regions that are remote from cities and towns.<\/p>\n

Gottimukkala earned her spot in the finals by correctly spelling \u201cChelicerata<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

By late Wednesday afternoon, four North Carolinians were among 24 spellers left in the semifinals. These three spellers were eliminated in the ninth round to earn a tie for 10th place:<\/p>\n

Read more NC settles lawsuit against company accused of contributing to higher meat prices<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 7:36 PM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kushi Gottimukkala, a seventh-grader at Carnage Magnet Middle School in Raleigh, earned a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals airing live Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nMeet the NC student who will compete in finals of Scripps National Spelling Bee - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1234\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet the NC student who will compete in finals of Scripps National Spelling Bee - 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