Two Valley eighth graders were hanging tough in the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., but only one made it through 10 rounds and into Thursday’s finals.

Sarvadnya Kadam, a 14-year-old Tulare resident who attends Oak Grove Elementary, is one of only nine students heading to the finals. Unfortunately, his Valley counterpart, Lawrence Ye, 13, who attends Herbert Hoover Middle School in Merced, won’t be on stage with him on Thursday.

Lawrence made it through the first nine rounds but was eliminated in round 10, as were nine other students.

The finals will be broadcast live on Ion Television starting at 5 p.m. Pacific time.

Sarvadnya, who won the California State Spelling Bee middle school championship in March, is on his third trip to nationals. He tied for 23rd in 2023 and 60th in 2024.

This year’s competition, the 100th annual National Spelling Bee, featured 243 students from across the U.S. and around the world.

And even though it’s called a spelling bee, it’s not just about spelling — in some rounds the students have to provide correct definitions for their given words.

How They Fared

Here’s the play-by-play: in Round 1, Lawrence correctly spelled yuloh and Sarvadnya spelled croquignole. Sadly, in that round Caroline Van Garsse, a Clovis Unified eighth grader who attends Alta Sierra Intermediate and who was sponsored by the Office of the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools, misspelled fracas and was eliminated.

In Round 2, Lawrence defined nepotism and Sarvadnya defined nocturnal. Round 3, a test round, knocked out 84 of the 183 contestants, but the two Valley competitors were among the 99 advancing. Round 4 saw Lawrence spelling tabloidism and Sarvadnya spelling melonry.

Round 5 was another definition round: Lawrence gave an example of the word confluence and Sarvadnya defined telekinesis. Round 6, Lawrence spelled tisswood and Sarvadnya spelled Kidderminster.

Round 7 saw 57 spellers competing: Lawrence spelled endarterectomy and Sarvadnya spelled terricoline. Only 40 spellers emerged into Round 8, another definition round in which Lawrence defined something described as littoral and Sarvadnya defined what it means to tithe your income.

In Round 9, Lawrence spelled Keuper and Sarvadnya spelled ostracophore.

Round 10 was particularly brutal: 19 students entered but only nine spelled their words correctly and moved forward to the finals. Sarvadyna correctly spelled disulfoton. but Lawrence was eliminated when he misspelled the word tourill.

The last time a Valley student took home the national championship was in 2017. Ananya Vinay, then a sixth grader at Fugman Elementary in northeast Fresno, won by correctly spelling marocain.

(Side note: School Zone has great admiration for these youthful spellers and their nerves of steel. As an eighth grader, School Zone was her school’s best speller — she missed only one word on all her spelling tests that year — but she wasn’t prepared for the stage fright that hit her when she had to face an auditorium packed with people. School Zone misspelled the word rendezvous, which in hindsight was somewhat surprising since she had taken French starting in the fifth grade. But when the mind goes blank … School Zone redeemed herself decades later at a corporate spelling bee in Lawrence, Kansas. She doesn’t remember the winning word, but she DOES remember making a conscious effort NOT to look at the audience and to focus on the microphone when it was her turn to spell.)

These Local History Students Are Going to Nationals

Four Fresno County History Day projects won Gold Awards recently at the National History Day California State Contest and are advancing to the National History Day competition that starts June 2 at the University of Maryland.

Fresno County’s state champions are:

• Brynn Donovan and Neeli Soleimani Fard, Liberty Elementary in Clovis Unified, elementary division group poster, “Equal Pay of 1963.” (Right on, sisters.)
• Piper Allen, Mason Pitcher, Kyle Mrkaich, Selena Wall, and Daniel Green, Edison High School in Fresno Unified, senior division group performance championship, “Today Is My Death Day.”
• Chelsea Su, Clovis North High in Clovis Unified, senior division individual website, “The Chinese American Voice in Segregation: A Responsibility to Advocate for Equal Rights in Education.”
• Dillon Custer and Autumn Fowler, Buchanan High, Clovis Unified, senior division group website, “Hearts in the Darkness: The Congo Reform Association’s Campaign for Human Rights.”

Hoover High Senior Gets Bank Scholarship

Noah Hinojosa, a standout senior at Hoover High School, is the winner of the $5,000 FFB Bank scholarship.

The scholarship, established last year in partnership with the Foundation for Fresno Unified Students, is awarded to a Hoover High student pursuing careers in business finance. This is the scholarship’s second year.

“Noah represents the talent and drive we aim to uplift through this partnership,” said Wendy McCulley, CEO of The Foundation for Fresno Unified Students. “We are incredibly grateful to FFB Bank for renewing their investment in Hoover students and for helping us support the next generation of Fresno’s business leaders.”

And More Student Scholarships

Westlands Water District has awarded $1,000 scholarships to 20 graduating seniors from across the Valley.

The scholarship winners are:

Avenal High: Samantha Garcia, future business administrator, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Coalinga High: Abigail Lee, future computer scientist, Fresno State; Samantha Selliers, future agricultural communications specialist, Kansas State University; Sophie Walker, future doctor, UCLA.

Firebaugh High: Joanna Garcia, future human biologist, UC Davis; Stephanie Barber, future nurse, UC Davis.

Lemoore High: Angel Jimenez Farias, future public relations specialist, San Jose State; Eliana Freitas, future physician’s assistant, University of San Diego; Madison Ball, future agricultural business leader, Texas Tech.

Lemoore Middle College High: Bret Orton, future civil engineer, Brigham Young University.

Mendota High: Gloria Mayenci Escobar, future agricultural educator, Fresno State; Keysi Lopez Gonzalez, future nurse, Fresno State; Melissa Ochoa Villegas, future architectural engineer, Fresno State; Valerie Garcia, future ag business leader, Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo.

Riverdale High: Brynn Close, future ag business leader, CSU Bakersfield; Carlos Pizano, Hernandez, future chemist, UCLA; David Cox, future ag business leader, Cal Poly; Luis Zarco, future mechanical engineer, Fresno State.

Sierra Pacific High School, Hanford: Monique Silva, future nurse, College of the Sequoias.

Tranquility High: Juan Mendoza, future physical therapist, Fresno State.

“As we celebrate our 19th year of the Westlands Scholarship program, we’re incredibly proud to support these 20 exceptional students as they pursue their academic dreams,” said Allison Febbo, general manager of Westlands Water District. “These scholarships represent our ongoing commitment to investing in the bright minds who will shape our region’s future. By reducing financial barriers to education, we hope to empower these talented young individuals to return and contribute to the prosperity of the Central Valley.”