March 17, 2022

Two USC students place in the top 10 at regional Spelling Bee

Two Upper St. Clair students were among the top performers in the 72nd Annual Western Pennsylvania Spelling Bee on Saturday, March 12, 2022, at Robert Morris University. Eighth grader Nikhil Chandran placed second and fifth grader Arjun Kairi finished within the top 10.

Nikhil and Arjun were two of five Upper St. Clair students who competed in the Western Pennsylvania Spelling Bee. To qualify for the regional competition, students finished first in their respective school’s spelling bee. Other school-level winners included Yu Rui Lin, Baker Elementary School; Brayden Wong, Eisenhower Elementary School; and Drew Holzer, Streams Elementary School.

The school-level spelling bees were coordinated by Upper St. Clair Parent Teacher Council volunteers, led by Sarah Cranganu.

Students up through grade 8 from throughout a 26-county region had the opportunity to compete in the Western Pennsylvania Spelling Bee. The winner of the Western Pennsylvania Spelling Bee advances to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in June 2022.

Last year, Upper St. Clair’s Rohan Mehta, then an eighth grader at Fort Couch Middle School, was crowned champion at the 71st Annual Western Pennsylvania Spelling Bee, which was held in March 2021. The runner-up was Boyce Middle School fifth grader Raana Parchuri, who was the 2020 Western Pennsylvania Spelling Bee champion as a fourth grader.