Northeast Ohio will be well-represented at the 96 th Scripps National Spelling Bee, which takes place May 28-30 in National Harbor, Maryland.
Five local students will be competing in the annual event, including Darren Prince-Wright, an eighth grader at West Geauga Middle School.
Good Morning Cleveland anchor Mike Brookbank spoke with Prince-Wright ahead of the competition.
Prince-Wright said he had been trying to qualify for the Scripps National Spelling Bee since sixth grade.
"It's been a journey and, like, the more for me, the more I lost, the more I was, like, determined to try to make it somewhere," said Prince-Wright.
Prince-Wright earned a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee after finishing in first place at the Tri-County Spelling Bee in February. He competed against the top spellers from Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake counties.
Prince-Wright's teacher, Alyssa Martin, said his hard work to get to this point has been inspirational.
"I think he's really a role model for the students in his class," said Martin. "I think everybody looks up to him."
Prince-Wright has been busy as a bee for the past several months practicing his spelling skills. The hardest part for him is keeping his nerves under control.
"Because if you get too excited or get too scared and you say a wrong letter, it's, you don't really get a second chance," said Prince-Wright.
Still, Prince-Wright is ready to represent Northeast Ohio on a national stage.
"It's great to be able to come out and represent, you know, there's a kind of stress there because you want to do well, but it's a good feeling," said Prince-Wright.
ION is your TV home for the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The two-night event begins with the Semifinals on May 29 at 8 p.m., followed by the Finals on May 30 at 8 p.m.
ION is available free over the air, as well as on most cable, satellite and streaming providers.
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