🐝 Florida teen wins Scripps National Spelling Bee

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.