Meet the Houston-area kids competing in the National Spelling Bee

HOUSTON – Tuesday is the first onstage oral competition for the 92nd National Spelling Bee.

There are 565 spellers in the 2019 competition, and of those, 11 are from the Houston area.

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Here is a look at those locals competing on the national stage:

Saran Sundar from Cypress will be competing in the Nation Spelling Bee

Saran Sundar

Speller No. 390 
From: Cypress, Texas 
School: Spillane Middle School

Benjamin Chen from Beaumont will be competing in the Nation Spelling Bee

Benjamin Chen

Speller No. 371 
From: Beaumont, Texas 
School: Marshall Middle School

Rodolfo Plata from Magnolia will be competing in the Nation Spelling Bee

Rodolfo Plata

Speller No. 563 
From: Magnolia, Texas 
School: Magnolia Parkway Elementary School

Siddharth Satish from Sugar Land will be competing in the Nation Spelling Bee

Siddharth Satish

Speller No. 560
From: Sugar Land, Texas 
School: Fort Settlement Middle School

Trisha Balakrishnan from Houston will be competing in the Nation Spelling Bee

Trisha Balakrishnan

Speller No. 559
From: Houston, Texas 
School: Briargrove Elementary School

Keerthana Krishnan from Katy will be competing in the Nation Spelling Bee

Keerthana Krishnan

Speller No. 545
From: Katy, Texas 
School: Beckendorff Junior High School

Sahana Gade from Sugar Land will be competing in the Nation Spelling Bee

Sahana Gade

Speller No. 537
From: Sugar Land, Texas 
School: Walker Station Elementary School

Sankalp Gautam from College Station will be competing in the Nation Spelling Bee

Sankalp Gautam

Speller No. 482
From: College Station, Texas 
School: Houston Public Media

Eshaan Mani from Sugar Land will be competing in the Nation Spelling Bee

Eshaan Mani

Speller No. 466
From: Sugar Land, Texas 
School: The Kinkaid School

Rishab Subramanya from Houston will be competing in the Nation Spelling Bee

Rishab Subramanya

Speller No. 479
From: Houston, Texas 
School: T.H. Rogers Middle School

Leah Li from Spring will be competing in the Nation Spelling Bee

Leah Li

Speller No. 480
From: Spring, Texas 
School: Hassler Elementary School


About the Author:

Daniela Sternitzky-Di Napoli has been a digital news editor at KPRC 2 since 2018. She is a published poet and has background in creative writing and journalism. Daniela has covered events like Hurricane Harvey and the Astros World Series win. In her spare time, Daniela is an avid reader and loves to spend time with her two miniature dachshunds.