9 More Days? Are you serious?/Semifinalists from 2010 Returning/Utah in the Bee

What on earth? I am so excited for the National Spelling Bee! There were hundreds of days until the next Bee, now nine? Time flies by, especially when studying spelling speeds it up!

There are so many spellers returning this year, including the ones who made it to semifinals.

*2010 Championship Finalist
^Four Timer
!Three Timer
&Two Timer
/2009 Semifinalist

*/! #24 Laura Newcombe (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
! #28 David Phan (Longmont, Colorado)
^ #30 Rahul Malayappan (Danbury, Connecticut)
& #38 Grace Remmer (St. Augustine, Florida)
! #49 Julia Denniss (Dunwoody, Georgia)
! #93 Emily Keaton (Pikeville, Kentucky)
! #127 Anja Beth Swoap (Edina, Minnesota)
& #141 Dakota Jones (Las Vegas, Nevada)
& #157 Arvind Mahankali (Forest Hills, New York)
^ /#188 Nicholas Rushlow (Pickerington, Ohio)
*& #206 Joanna Ye (Carlisle, Pennsylvania)
! #/214 Sukanya Roy (South Abington Twp, Pennsylvania)
*^#215 Julianna Canabal-Rodriguez (Mayaguez, Puerto Rico)

#25 Veronica Penny and #152 Sriram Hathwar both made it to semifinals in 2009, but were not at the Bee in 2010. This year, they are both three-timers.

Utah in the Spelling Bee

If you have read my other blogs, you would know that I am from Utah. This year, there are four Utahns going to the National Spelling Bee.

#248 Matthew Perry (Bountiful, Utah)

#249 Jared Ward (Blanding, Utah)

#250 Anna-Marie Sprenger (Provo, Utah)

#251 Vismaya Kharkar (Salt Lake City, Utah) 

Ever since the written test, I have never seen Utah make the cut. Who knows what will happen this year? Anna-Marie knows a lot of languages, and hopefully they will help her. Vismaya studies a lot of roots and etymology. I am definitely cheering for these two spellers!

In 2007, Kunal Sah, wanted his parents back, after they were deported to India. I felt so bad for him, that I felt as if Utah needed a champion. He wanted to win, but he did not make the cut. I could imagine him in tears after I heard that he was not moving on.

I will love it if Utah makes it to semifinals, the championship finals, and perhaps the champion one day! Hopefully this year, they will at least make it to semifinals.