Plano 6th grader finishes in second place in Scripps National Spelling Bee

Faizan Zaki, a 6th grader from Plano ISD’s Rice Middle School, finished in second place in the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee and hoped to become the 17th national winner from the Lone Star State.

Bruhat Soma, 12, of St. Petersburg, Florida took the top spot Thursday night.

The 12-year-old was one of eight students from around the country who competed in the finals on May 29-30. The winner was decided Thursday night and takes home $50,000 cash and some other prizes.

To get to the finals, Zaki worked his way through eight rounds correctly spelling the words “hellebore,” “splenetic,” “Adirondack,” “samisen,” “Braggadocio,” “selvagee,” “yawp,” and “morlop.”

“We are absolutely buzzing with pride here in Plano ISD,” the district said.

The spelling bee started with 245 competitors from around the country and included a handful of international spellers from Canada, Germany, Guam, the Bahamas, Ghana, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This year Texas had the largest group of spellers in the competition with 20.

Texas spellers, with 16 wins, have won more national bees than spellers from any other state.

Last year’s champ, Dev Shah, of Key Largo, Florida, won with the word “psammophile.” The longest word in the history of the bee was “scherenschnitte (2015) and the shortest was luge (1984).

Faizan, who is sponsored by the Dallas Sports Commission, competed in the Scripps National Spelling Bee twice before in 2019 (tied for 370th) and 2023 (tied for 21st).

Great job, Faizan!