28-05-2025
Tampa Bay speller out at national Bee, five from Florida remain
For the first time since 2022, the nation's top speller won't come from the Tampa Bay region.
Pinellas Academy of Math and Science sixth grader Vlada Kozhevnikova, representing the Rays Baseball Foundation and Rowdies Soccer Fund, made it through the first two rounds of the Scripps National Spelling Bee this week. But like 84 other contestants, Vlada did not score high enough on the third round written test to advance further.
She finished tied for 100th place.
Five competitors from Florida remain in the 100th annual bee, and could become the third consecutive winner from the Sunshine State. Only twice before has the same state had winners three years in a row.
Dev Shah of Largo won in 2023, and Bruhat Soma of Tampa won in 2024.
