Arizona Spelling Bee 2016

Each year, the state’s best spellers in grades K-8 come together for the Arizona Spelling Bee to determine who will represent Arizona in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. Hosted by Arizona PBS, the Arizona Spelling Bee is taped at the Arizona PBS studios on the downtown Phoenix campus of Arizona State University.

The winner and an escort receive an all-expense paid trip to our nation’s capital to compete with spellers from across the U.S. on May 26–May 28, 2016.

An Arizona PBS original production made possible by the Arizona Educational Foundation.

The Spelling Bee challenges children to utilize their spelling and phonetic skills in a competitive environment. The finalists must first win a series of competitions at local, district and regional or county levels. The 27 winners from the county spelling bees compete in the 2016 Arizona Spelling Bee.

2016 finalists:

Kameryn Greer
7th Grade
St. Johns Middle School
(St. Johns)

Ethan Johnson
8th Grade
Center for Academic Success
(Sierra Vista)

Katrina Vollmer
7th Grade
San Francisco de Asis Catholic School
(Flagstaff)

Chris Provido
8th Grade
High Desert Middle School
(Globe)

Callie Konopnicki
8th Grade
Safford Middle School
(Safford)

Keanna Cortez
8th Grade
Fairbanks Middle School
(Morenci)

Adianne Alamban
8th Grade
Wallace Jr. High School
(Parker)

Tommy LaPenna
8th Grade
Kyrene Middle School
(Tempe)

Jackson Springer
5th Grade
Barbara Bush Elementary School
(Mesa)

Nicola Ferguson
7th Grade
Sunrise Middle School
(Scottsdale)

Keshav Nandakumar
8th Grade
Sierra Verde STEM Academy
(Glendale)

Lindsay Davis
6th Grade
Vista del Sur Accelerated Academy
(Laveen)

Amutha Rajasundaram
4th Grade
Madison Heights Elementary School
(Phoenix)

Michael Davey
7th Grade
Parkridge Elementary School
(Peoria)

Jaidyn Mallon
6th Grade
Lookout Mountain Elementary School
(Phoenix)

Tatiana Asadourian
6th Grade
Desert Oasis Elementary School
(Surprise)

Chelsea Lee
8th Grade
Westpoint Elementary School
(Surprise)

Michael Chen
7th Grade
BASIS Chandler
(Chandler)

Amber Kassisieh
8th Grade
South Valley Jr. High School
(Gilbert)

Johan Perea
6th Grade
Havasupai Elementary School
(Lake Havasu City)

Jett Jue
6th Grade
Bonnie Brennan Elementary School
(Winslow)

Matthew Glasshoff
8th Grade
Marana Middle School
(Marana)

Sai Konkimalla
5th Grade
BASIS Oro Valley
(Oro Valley)

Freya Abraham
8th Grade
Legacy Traditional School
(Maricopa)

Grecia Solorio
5th Grade
Mary L. Welty Elementary School
(Nogales)

Tanner Dodt
6th Grade
Heritage Christian Home Educators
(Prescott Valley)

Yazan Abdella
8th Grade
Crane Middle School
(Yuma)

*contestants arranged in alphabetical order by county