LAFAYETTE — Seven Indiana students have won their regional competitions and are now heading to the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Seventh grader Joey Finnerty has been competing in spelling bees since fourth grade and this year, he won the regional competition and made it to the national stage.
He's the first East Tipp Middle School student to go to the Scripps Bee.
"I am kind of excited, but since there are so many people it kind of makes me think I'm not going to do super good and I'm probably not going to get very far, but if I think if I try my best, I'll do fine," Joey said.
Every night Joey puts in an hour of studying with the help of resources from Scripps. His goal is to practice 100 spelling words and 100 vocab words.
"At this level, the words are so difficult, most of them I don't even know what they are," Patrick Finnerty, Joey's dad, said.
Joey will be challenged on his vocabulary during a word meaning round of the Bee which is a multiple-choice vocabulary question. This new element started last year to advance the bee's focus on word knowledge and literacy.
"If I get the first word wrong, I will feel pretty disappointed, but as long as I try my best, I'll be happy," Finnerty said.
The competition is fully back in person this year at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center just outside of Washington D.C. The preliminaries are on May 31.
This year, for the first time in bee history, the semifinals and finals rounds will be aired exclusively on ION and Bounce, which are free Scripps TV stations.
-
What to expect in Indiana's state primaries
Half of Indiana’s 50 state Senate seats and all 100 state House seats are up for election in 2026. Republicans hold supermajorities in both chambers.
IMPD arrests murder suspect in September shooting
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and the Marion County Sheriff's Office arrested a murder suspect Sunday after an eight-month investigation.
2026 Indiana Primary Election Results
Here are the results for the May 2026 Primary election results in Indianapolis. See who won each race.
North Indianapolis neighborhood reels after fatal shooting involving youths
Residents of a north Indianapolis neighborhood where an early Sunday morning shooting left a woman dead say they’re shocked at the incident, as the neighborhood is typically peaceful.
