There were no easy words for Sonia Kulkarni on March 5. The eighth grade spelling bee champion from John Burroughs School stood on a stage, and, one after the other, she spelled words like sprechstimme, cotoneaster, groenendael and onychorrhexis.
She navigated 16 rounds of head-to-head competition. She spelled “rectrix” (a bird’s flight feathers) and then “suspiration” (a long, deep sigh) and then she stopped.
There were no more words, or competitors, left. For the second time in as many years, she became St. Louis’ regional spelling bee champion.
“I was confident, but I was also very stressed and pressured because it's my last year of competing,” Kulkarni told St. Louis on the Air. “I understand that there have been spellers who have won regionals and gone to nationals and everything. But the next year, they lose … so I did not want that to happen to me.”
Kulkarni has been seriously competing in spelling bees since the fifth grade. In 2023, she won her first regional competition. The win landed her a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., where more than 230 students competed against each other. Kulkarni tied for 23rd place.
This year, she wants to go all the way.
This is the 13-year-old’s last chance to ascend to the highest heights of spelling bee competition. This year she’s doubled down on her training regimen, practicing words for hours. She’s dropped piano to focus on spelling.
“It is hard to get back up and continue participating in the bee, and to keep fighting even if you faced a loss,” she said. “That's really tough to do. But I just have a passion for words. … I've put in so much work. I'm not going to give up for my last year. So, I'm just going to try and give it my all.”
It’s not just kids trying to best their peers in spelling showdowns. On Friday, 22 adult contestants will compete in a spelling bee for the causes of their choice.
Tee Parks is competing for the Freedom Community Center. She decided to enter the bee to avenge her third grade spelling bee defeat. That loss came after she stumbled on the placement of the “u” in the word “guaranteed.”
“I'll never forget that,” Parks said. “That little 9-year-old in me is ready to come back for that win that she knows she deserved — and we won't be missing any ‘u’s this go-round.”
Related event
What: Adult Spelling Bee Presented by Date Ideas & Things To Do
When: 6 p.m. April 5
Where: Work & Leisure (3015 Locust St., St. Louis, MO) Spine Bookstore & Café (1982 Arsenal St., St. Louis, MO)
To hear more from Sonia Kulkarni on her back-to-back championships and path to nationals, as well as reflections from two adult spellers competing in Friday’s spelling bee, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcast, Spotify or Google Podcast or by clicking the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Roshae Hemmings is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
