(WXYZ) — Michigan will be represented by nine spellers when students begin competing in the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The preliminaries kick off on Tuesday, May 26.
Previous Story: Canton student makes her second trip to Scripps National Spelling Bee
The Michigan spellers will be numbers 104-112.
Here is the list of names:
104 Dean Handley Turner
105 Divya Choudhary
106 Sanskriti Parihar
107 Heron Bothwell
108 Alec Phillips
109 Henry O'Neal
110 Sidhanth Vetrivel
111 Minna Danziger
112 Claudio Ardanese
Here is more information on each from the spelling bee.
Dean Handley Turner age 13 | grade 8
Sponsored By: Macomb Intermediate School District
Clinton Township, Michigan
School: Wyandot Middle School
Bio: Dean enjoys hobbies like cooking, riding his bike, ice skating and playing video games. He also loves to watch all sports and attend concerts. He is almost always listening to music or a podcast, as well as hanging out with friends. The accomplishment he is most proud of would be winning district champion on his Lego robotics team, along with winning his regional spelling bee.
Divya Choudhary age 12 | grade 7
Sponsored By: WXYZ Channel 7
Detroit, Michigan
School: Canton Charter Academy
Previous Bee Experience: Divya previously competed in 2024 (tied for 60th place) and 2025 (tied for 202nd place).
Bio: Divya is a jack of all trades. She dabbles in several things, including art, classical singing, robotics, Science Olympiad and playing the saxophone. When she isn't doing an extracurricular activity, you can find her reading a good book or cooking a snack. She is the student council president and National Junior Honor Society treasurer of her school. Divya started a school newspaper and runs it as the editor-in-chief with 14 members. She is very social and enjoys hangouts with her many friends.
Sanskriti Parihar age 13 | grade 8
Sponsored By: Kent Intermediate School District
Grand Rapids, Michigan
School: Fremont Middle School
Bio: Sanskriti, better known as Shally, has many hobbies including swimming, playing the flute and participating in her school's Science Olympiad team. She loves shot put, track and hanging out with her friends. In her free time, she likes to play basketball and volleyball with her little sister, Ashi.
Heron Bothwell age 11 | grade 5
Sponsored By: Kalamazoo Experiential Learning Center
Kalamazoo, Michigan
School: Parkwood - Upjohn Elementary School
Bio: Heron has been performing since preschool, on violin, piano, and as a musical theater actor. She enjoys climbing, archery and playing around the neighborhood with her friends. She can also be found baking her own creations, building sculptures with whatever she can find, and reading anything containing elves or books about science. Heron is excited to participate in her state National History Day competition right before the Bee!
Alec Phillips age 14 | grade 8
Sponsored By: The County Press
Lapeer, Michigan
School: Chatfield School
Bio: Alec likes to be very active and enjoys being outdoors. He loves going skiing with his father in the winter, and hiking and playing basketball with his friends. Alec is very passionate about music and plays the trombone. He aspires to be a commercial airline pilot and plans to serve in the Air Force following ROTC in college.
Henry O'Neal age 14 | grade 8
Sponsored By: West Shore Educational Service District
Ludington, Michigan
School: Mason County Central Middle School
Bio: Henry is a member of the track team, marching band and pep band and attends Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in the Summer. He enjoys horror movies and books.
Sidhanth Vetrivel age 14 | grade 8
Sponsored By: The Herald-Palladium
St. Joseph, Michigan
School: Upton Middle School
Previous Bee Experience: Sidhanth previously competed in 2023 (tied for 122nd place).
Bio: Sidhanth stays busy with a mix of interests, including soccer, where he enjoys playing with his team and friends. He also values quality time with family and keeps himself active. He’s always up for an adventure- exploring new places is his thing. Outside of that, he enjoys basketball, gaming with friends and watching action-comedy movies for fun.
Minna Danziger age 13 | grade 7
Sponsored By: Traverse City Record-Eagle
Traverse City, Michigan
School: Leland Public School
Previous Bee Experience: Minna previously competed in 2025 (tied for 184th place).
Bio: Minna is an avid athlete who loves soccer, basketball, skiing, tennis and pickleball. She enjoys reading, ceramics, photography and art. She is learning Swedish and she's interested in becoming a sports lawyer when she's older.
Claudio Ardanese age 14 | grade 8
Sponsored By: Oakland Schools Education Foundation
Waterford, Michigan
School: Berkshire Middle School
Bio: Claudio likes reading, playing soccer and swimming with his teams, and he loves playing his trumpet. He plays with his school's band and jazz band, and with the Oakland Youth Orchestra. In his free time he loves building furniture, fixing anything that is broken around the house, and playing chess or cards with his younger brother. He also likes to spend time composing electronic music with his keyboard and various software.
For more information on the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee, click here.
