Adhrit Chowdhury receives his medallion and is congratulated by Emcee Joe Dan Harper.
Adhrit Chowdhury was the champion of the Western New York Regional Championship of the Scripps Spelling Bee sponsored March 14 by the State University of New York at Fredonia.
His winning word was mortadella, meaning a large smoked sausage made of beef, pork, and pork fat and seasoned with pepper and garlic, according to Merriam-Webster. The competition, involving spellers from 22 western New York schools, lasted 13 rounds.
Adhrit, 13, is an 8th grader from Transit Middle School in the Williamsville Central School District.
When interviewed after the competition, Adhrit said he was “excited about the journey.” His advice to future spellers was “Practice a lot. The more you put into it, the more you get out.”
Spellers competed at Juliet J. Rosch Recital Hall at SUNY Fredonia. Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences staff and faculty Patricia Babcock and Allison Manning served as pronouncers for the competition, and the judges – tasked with tracking every word and verifying spelling accuracy – were SUNY Fredonia faculty and staff Drs. David Kaplin and Judith Horowitz and Amanda Shepp (alternate Sam Kenney). Spellers studied “Words of the Champions,” the 4,000-word list provided by the Scripps National Spelling Bee, to prepare for the competition.
Adhrit now advances to compete in the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee this summer in Washington, D.C. The semifinals on May 27 and the finals on May 28 will be televised on ION and broadcast from the Bee’s new competition venue, DAR Constitution Hall.
Adhrit has been to Washington D.C., before, but it is his first time to the National Spelling Bee. Although Adhrit had the opportunity to participate in a mathematics competition in New York City on Saturday, he chose to participate in the regional spelling bee.
In addition to qualifying for the national competition, Adhrit won these prizes:
• Britannica Online Premium, a one-year subscription for the premier online resource from Encyclopædia Britannica.
• Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online, a one-year subscription for the official word source for all levels of competition for the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
“It was a privilege to host the Western New York Regional Championship of the Scripps Spelling Bee as part of our Bicentennial celebration at SUNY Fredonia,” noted Dean of the College of Education, Health Sciences, and Human Services Janeil Rey. “All of the spellers were well prepared and great representatives of their schools. The event had all the hallmarks of a challenging competition: stress, excitement, remarkable demonstrations of grace under pressure and models of facing both loss and triumph with honor. I am thrilled for our champion, Adhrit Chowdhury, to move on to the finals in Washington, D.C., where he will do very well.
“I hope this inaugural event will be the start of a long partnership with Scripps to welcome our region’s best spellers to Fredonia each spring to celebrate and recognize their achievement. Thanks to the Fredonia College Foundation for their sponsorship and to our volunteers from across campus including students, faculty, staff and administrators, who made this event possible and showcased Fredonia.”
Dean Rey added that Saturday’s event was also made possible with the additional support of sponsors Tops and Highmark BlueCross BlueShield.
The 21 other western New York spellers at Saturday's bee included Abigail Almeter, Sarah Anand, Atlas Boner from Northern Chautauqua Catholic School, Colleen Bucki, George Burakowski, Grace Caruso, Paolo Cefaratti, Chase D'Agostino, Celia Kean, Samyutha Dudi, Benjamin Gibson, Noah Gray, Katerina Hiller, Jamisen Hudson from Dunkirk Intermediate School, Jazleen Kaur, Oscar Lamb, Natalie Lester, Oliver Poliachik, Adam Vazquez Rivera, Harper Shareno from Central Christian Academy, and Patience Terrell.
The competition encourages the exploration of words and lifelong curiosity, with a focus on helping students set goals and dedicate time to study and prepare. Participation in the bee program also provides an opportunity for students to gain experience in public speaking and poise under pressure.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee provides the list of words for the regional competition. The Bee reaches millions of students across the country and in other parts of the world with the classroom materials it provides to enrolled schools.
About the Scripps National Spelling Bee:
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the nation’s largest and longest-running educational program, having launched in 1925. By inspiring the exploration of words, the Scripps National Spelling Bee illuminates pathways to lifelong curiosity, celebrates academic achievement and enriches communities.
More information about the Scripps National Spelling Bee can be found online, which is administered on a not-for-profit basis by The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP).
