Sacramento teenager eliminated from Scripps National Spelling Bee

(FOX40.COM) — A Sacramento eighth grader’s time at the Scripps National Spelling Bee has come to an end.

Nithika Rangan, 14, was eliminated from the competition after advancing to the quarterfinals. 
•Video Above: Interview with Nithika Rangan (from March 2024)

The Brookfield School student was knocked out of the event on Wednesday after misspelling “tennantite” in the sixth round. 

She began Wednesday by correctly answering wrangle “was to engage in an argument” in the fifth round. 

Rangan made it to the quarterfinals after correctly spelling “cognatus” in the fourth round. She was one of 59 spellers who moved on to the quarterfinals. 

It was Rangan’s second time competing in the National Spelling Bee with her previous experience coming in 2019 as a third grader.

Rangan is also a singer, performing the national anthem at over 50 sporting events and the Sacramento Run to Feed the Hungry, according to her bio on the spelling bee’s website. 

In a March interview with FOX40.com, Rangan said her journey began in first grade after her teacher told her mom about her spelling talents.

“I won the classroom spelling bee and my teacher told my mom, ‘Hey your daughter is really good at spelling,’ and that’s when my spelling bee journey started,” Rangan said. “My mom started enrolling me in a lot more spelling bees and I decided that I really like this and I decided to keep continuing.” 

The National Spelling Bee began Tuesday and will conclude with the finals on Thursday night. Since 2011, the spelling bee has occurred at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.