T-A-J-I-N spells final round berth for Midstate student in National Spelling Bee
(WHTM) — An eighth grader from our area is a finalist in the Scripps National Spelling Bee and will compete against eight others Thursday night for the title.
Akshaj Somisetty is an eighth grader at Mountain View Middle School in the Cumberland Valley School District and it's his second time competing in the national spelling bee. He tied for 60th place last year.
This year, he'll finish no worse than 9th.
In Wednesday's semifinals, he correctly spelled Tajin to lock in his spot in Thursday's finals.
To make it to the finals, he had to spell henotheism, thermolysis, blazar, adenitis, cinchona, and Tajin, as well as providing a definition for a 'chortle,' a synonym for 'lucrative' and a definition for arborescent.
Somisetty is one of nine spellers who will compete in Thursday's finals, set to take place at 8 p.m. live on Ion, WHTM-TV 27.2.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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