ATLANTA — After over 350 words and 23 rounds (including vocabulary), 12-year-old, 6th grader Sarv Dharavane from Peachtree Middle in DeKalb County emerged as the winner of the 65th Annual Georgia Association of Educators (GAE) State Spelling Bee. This was Sarv’s third straight year as Georgia’s Spelling Champion. He gets the opportunity to better his third place finish at the Scripps Bee championships in 2025. He, along with runner-up, 13-year-old, 7th grader Sreeya Lakkimsetti from Stallings Middle in Columbia County, will both represent Georgia in the Scripps National Spelling Bee Championships in Washington, D.C., May 24-29, 2026.
In the 22nd round, after Sreeya misspelled the word Okavango, Sarv correctly spelled the next two words, Aitchbone and Simal, to become the state's spelling champion for the third consecutive year.
Sarv said, “I am extremely happy. More like ecstatic. I'm completely in nirvana! I've come a long, long, LONG way to get here. I could have only done this because of every single person who has helped me along the way, including my principal and family."
Sreeya, for her part, said, “I am so thankful for this opportunity to go to nationals and it still feels so surreal!
“Congratulations to both Sarv, for the third time, and Sreeya, her first time, along with all of these outstanding young spellers,” said GAE President Lisa Morgan. “It’s inspiring to see the growth they’ve shown and the confidence they’ve demonstrated under the pressure of competition. We wish our two finalists and their families the very best as they head to Maryland to represent Georgia on the national stage.”
Sarv and Sreeya received first and second place trophies, respectively. Both received an al-expenses-paid trip to the Scripps National Spelling Bee and $1,000 (GAE), an Apple iPad Mini (Horace Mann Insurance Companies), a $50 gift card (Best Buy of Cumming, GA), an online subscription dictionary (Merriam-Webster), a one-year online subscription (Encyclopaedia Britannica), one 2026 U.S. Mint Proof Set (Samuel L. Sugarman Award), a one-year online subscription (News-O-Matic), and a GAE Bee Champion lapel pin.
The 20 spellers ranging from 9 to 14 years old, from 4th through 8th grades, all came with the same goal in mind — representing Georgia at the Scripps National Spelling Bee Championship. They hailed from all corners of state: Walker, Catoosa, Forsyth, Cobb, Cherokee, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Fulton, Heard, Clayton, Muscogee, Houston, Columbia, Wayne, Effingham, Lowndes, Colquitt, and Clarke counties. They were the last standing out of 1,531 students from the following school categories - 1,424 public (including state and system charters), 79 private, 15 parochial, 5 virtual, 4 individual homeschools, and 4 homeschool associations.
All contestants received a GAE State Spelling Bee participant lapel pin.
Winning moments
View contest pics at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gaecomm/albums/72177720332588280
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