CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Two students from Clover are bound for Washington, D.C., after dominating the South Carolina portion of the Carolina Panthers Regional Spelling Bee held this weekend at Bank of America Stadium.
In an impressive showing for the Clover School District, classmates Manha Shaik and Salonee Biraber from Oakridge Middle School captured the top two spots in the competition. Shaik secured first place, while Biraber finished as the runner-up, successfully outspelling 50 other top competitors from across the state.
Both students have now qualified to represent the region at the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee, scheduled to begin on May 26.
The regional event, hosted by the Carolina Panthers, featured 110 of the best spellers from 58 school districts across the Carolinas. While the competition included students from grades three through eight from both North and South Carolina, the delegation from Clover proved to be the standout performers for the Palmetto State.
In addition to the Clover champions, several students from North Carolina also earned spots at the national competition, including Phaneendra Bulusu of Concord and Harini Jayakumar of Mooresville.
Shaik and Biraber will now prepare to compete against the nation’s top spellers on the national stage later this spring.
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Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
