Eleven middle school students competed in the annual Norfolk Collegiate Middle School Spelling Bee on Wednesday, January 18. Sixth grader Simran Rijhwani emerged victorious after correctly spelling intrigue. The bee had a field of four eighth graders, six seventh graders, and one sixth grader and lasted fourteen rounds. Simran spelled fourteen words correctly. Second place winner Nick Sarris spelled twelve words correctly.

Simran will move on to compete at the regional level of the Scripps National Spelling Bee sponsored locally by The Virginian-Pilot and televised by WHRO in February. There she will compete with students from throughout the newspaper’s coverage area. The winner will continue to compete at the national competition.