CINCINNATI — Two middle school students from the Tri-State are heading to the 101st Scripps National Spelling Bee later this year.
Winners from Saturday's regional competition at the Cincinnati Public Schools' headquarters will travel to Washington, D.C., in May for the national bee.
Ohio spellers competed Saturday morning, while spellers from Indiana and Kentucky competed throughout the afternoon.
During Saturday's competition, fifth-grader Meenakashi Vodela secured her spot with the correct spelling of the word "ductus," which is a Latin term for a tube, canal or duct in the body.
"I think I got ductus or something, so I tried to think of a duct, but it wasn't that, so I just tried to think of how a similar word would be spelled," Vodela said.
Vodela told us she read a lot to help her prepare for the bee, and she's hoping to bring the national bee trophy back to Cincinnati.
Seventh-grader London Tuttle, who was participating in her first regional bee, clinched her spot by outspelling the other competitors in the Kentucky and Indiana competition.
Tuttle correctly spelled the word "paratactic," which is the adjective form of parataxis, a literary style where clauses, phrases and sentences are placed one after another without coordinating or subordinating connectives, such as "I came, I saw, I conquered."
Lindsay Tuttle, London's mother, said her daughter is most likely such a good speller because she's a big reader.
"I'm just very proud of her. She did great," Lindsay Tuttle said.
Tuttle said her goal at the national competition is to at least make the top 10 spellers.
The 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee will take place Tuesday, May 26, through Thursday, May 28. More than 200 spellers will travel across the country for a chance to compete in the competition.
