Speller Dev Shah of Largo, Florida, participates in a final round of the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Florida teen Dev Shah has won the 95th Scripps National Spelling Bee Thursday night after a nail-biting final with 11 other spellers.
Driving the news: The 14-year-old from Largo's winning word was "psammophile," a noun defined as an organism that prefers or thrives in sandy areas.
The prize: $50,000 cash, a commemorative medal, the coveted Scripps Cup and a lifetime of bragging rights.
Flashback: Last year's Bee ended in the competition's first ever spell-off with Harini Logan, 14, from San Antonio defeating Vikram Raju, 12.
- Florida hasn’t had a winner since Nupur Lala from Tampa took the prize in 1999.
Zoom in: Shah, who attends Morgan Fitzgerald Middle School, previously competed in 2019 (tied for 51st place) and 2021 (tied for 76th place).
- When Shah isn’t busy winning the spelling bee, he likes to play tennis, practice the cello and solves math problems. Yes, for fun.
Fun facts from Bee week:
- Over 200 contestants competed in this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee.
- Surya Kapu, 14, from Salt Lake City, Utah was the only repeating finalist from the 2022 Bee. He finished in 3rd place.
- There were several international competitors, including spellers from Guam, Canada and Ghana.
- Texas had the largest representation with 21 spellers.