Meet the contestants: North Florida’s top spellers of 2021

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The best fifth- through eighth-grade spellers from 14 counties in Northeast and North Central Florida will compete later this month in the 77th annual First Coast Spelling Bee.

Like everything else during this pandemic, this year’s bee will be different. Rather than gathering in an auditorium, the March 29 bee will be held on Zoom.

The full list is below, including some names you might remember if you’ve been watching the bee on The Local Station for the last few years as four are returning county champions:

• This is the fourth regional bee for Erik Williams from Clay County. He has won two of the last three years.
• It’s Manischa Wijayawardhana of St. Johns County’s third regional bee.
• Armand Küykendall of Putnam County is also back for a third regional bee.
• Ashton Tabor from Hamilton Count is back in the regionals for a second time.

The 14 county winners in the order they will compete on March 29

OPEN: Details, photos of our 14 contestants